Books of Renaissance Drama and Dramatists

William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life

  • Author: Samuel Schoenbaum
  • Published: OUP1 1988. Other Editions.
  • Details: Paperback. 416pp.
  • ISBN: 0195051610
  • Summary: The definitive scholarly biography of Shakespeare, based on documentary evidence.
  • See also: A Documentary Life [0198125755]

 William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life by Samuel Schoenbaum

Ben Jonson: His Life and Work

  • Author: Rosalind Miles
  • Published: Routledge & Kegan Paul 1986.
  • Details: Hard cover. 306pp.
  • ISBN: 0710208383
  • Summary: A biography that also outlines Jonson’s work and its context.

 Ben Jonson: His Life and Work by Rosalind Miles

*The Shakespearean Stage, 1574-1642

  • Author: Andrew Gurr
  • Published: Cambridge UP 1970, 1973, 1992.
  • Details: Hard cover, Paperback. 296pp.
  • ISBN: 052142240X
  • Summary: Entertaining & scholarly: the companies, acting styles, playhouses, staging, audiences. See also by Gurr: Playgoing; Companies; Staging.
  • Reviews: Cambridge University Press

 The Shakespearean Stage, 1574-1642 by Andrew Gurr

Shakespeare’s Opposites: The Admiral’s Company 1594-1625

  • Author: Andrew Gurr
  • Published: Cambridge UP April 2009.
  • Details: Hardback. 328pp.
  • ISBN: 052186903X; 978-0521869034.
  • Summary: Prof. Gurr turns his attention to the Admiral’s Men, who staged many of Marlowe’s plays, played at The Rose and The Fortune, and boasted Edward Alleyn as their lead actor.
  • Contents & Extracts: Cambridge UP
  • Review: Times Literary Supplement

 Shakespeare's Opposites: The Admiral's Company 1594-1625 by Andrew Gurr

Henslowe’s Diary

  • Author: W.W.Greg
  • Published: A.H.Bullen, London 1904, 1908.
  • Details: Hard Cover. 2 Volumes.
  • Vol I: Diary Text – 240pp (1904).
  • Vol II: Commentary – 400pp (1908).
  • Summary: The first complete transcription, followed by a second volume of extensive commentary.
  • Reviews: Map of Early Modern London

 Henslowe's Diary by W.W.Greg

*Henslowe’s Diary

  • Editor(s): R.A.Foakes, R.T.Rickert
  • Published: Cambridge University Press
  • 1st Edn: Hard cover, 368pp (1961).
  • 2nd Edn: Paperback, 436pp (2002).
  • ISBN: 0521524024
  • Summary: Based heavily on Greg’s edition, with some minor corrections.
  • Reviews: Map of Early Modern London

 Henslowe's Diary (Ed. R.A.Foakes, R.T.Rickert)

*The Elizabethan Stage

  • Author: E.K. Chambers
  • Published: Oxford; at the Clarendon Press 1923.
  • Details: Hardback. 4 Volumes.
  • Contents: Vol I: The Court; Control of the Stage. Vol II: Companies; Actors; Play-houses. Vol III: Staging; Plays & Playwrights. Vol IV: Anonymous Work; Appendices; Indexes. [Contents List]
  • Summary: The reference work covering every aspect of renaissance drama in England in remarkable detail. Vast and indispensable!

 The Elizabethan Stage by E.K. Chambers

The Rose and The Globe: Excavations 1988-90

  • Authors: Julian Bowsher & Pat Miller.
  • Published: Museum of London Archaeology, November 2009.
  • Details: Hardback. 280pp.
  • ISBN-10: 1901992853; 978-1901992854
  • Review: Independent
  • Summary: A comprehensive and detailed account of the archaeological excavations, and what those finds tell us about how these two famous Bankside playhouses were used.

 The Rose and The Globe - Playhouses of Shakespeare's Bankside, Southwark: Excavations 1988-90 by Julian Bowsher & Pat Miller

*The Queen’s Men and Their Plays

  • Authors: Scott McMillin, Sally-Beth Maclean
  • Published: Cambridge UP 1998, 2006.
  • Details: Paperback. 272pp.
  • ISBN: 0521025397
  • Summary: The all-star acting company of the 1580’s: their acting style, staging methods, touring patterns and repertoire.
  • Reviews: Cambridge University Press

 The Queen's Men and Their Plays by Scott McMillin & Sally-Beth Maclean

*John Lowin and the English Theatre, 1603-1647

  • Authors: Barbara Wooding
  • Published: Ashgate August 2013.
  • Details: Hardback. 218pp.
  • ISBN: 1409452670
  • Summary: Comprehensive overview of the life and times of John Lowin, a leader of the King’s Men and one of the greatest 17th century actors, based on research into his documented activities within the acting company.
  • Buy Online: Ashgate.

 John Lowin and the English Theatre, 1603-1647 by Barbara Wooding

*Great Neglected Speeches from the Elizabethan Stage

  • Authors: Michael Frohnsdorff & Ken Pickering.
  • Published: Pen Press, March 2010.
  • Details: Paperback. 230pp.
  • ISBN: 1907499199
  • Summary: This sourcebook for actors, students and theatre-goers provides a remarkable collection of classic speeches from the Elizabethan stage which have been unfairly neglected due to the popularity of Shakespeare.

 Great Neglected Speeches from the Elizabethan Stage by Michael Frohnsdorff & Ken Pickering

The Performer’s Anthology

  • Author: Ken Pickering
  • Published: Janus Publishing, London 2008.
  • Details: Paperback. 230pp.
  • ISBN: 1857566432
  • Summary: A unique international collection of performance pieces taken from ancient and modern texts, for actors and teachers alike. The Drama section includes material from both Doctor Faustus and Lusts Dominion.

The Performer's Anthology by Ken Pickering