A Midsummer Night’s Dream

This volume describes the theatrical fortunes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the British stage, from the 1590s to the 1990s. A substantial introduction traces the rise of the play from theatrical neglect in the eighteenth century through the spectacular productions of the nineteenth century to its current high status. The authoritative Cambridge text of the play is accompanied by detailed notes on actors’ interpretations, settings, textual alterations, and the conceptions of individual directors from David Garrick to Robert Lepage. It will be invaluable to students of Shakespeare in performance.