The Taste of the Town: Shakespearian Comedy and the Early Eighteenth-century Theater

This book is a comprehensive study of the reception history of Shakespeare's comedies within the context of Restoration and early eighteenth-century theater, from 1660 until the Licensing Act of 1737. In the absence of an overarching methodology or ideology about how to adapt Shaekspeare, eighteenth-century playwright were motivated by popular taste and shaped Shakespeare accordingly. Shakespeare's comedies provided ideal raw material to adjust to current theatrical and cultural trends such as the popularity of music and dance, changing forms of comedy, political controversies, the fluidity of acting companies, the development of dramatic forms, and the influence of print culture. A recently edited play, a popular comic actor, a new musical composer, or a novel of constructing a dramatic piece affected the ways Shakespeare's comedies were reshaped according to local theatrical condtitions.