This thesis presents a critical edition in modern spelling of The London Prodigal, a comedy played by the King's Men and printed in 1605 by Thomas Creede for the publisher Nathaniel Butter. The title-page (photographically reproduced) attributes the play to William Shakespeare. This claim is assessed and judged to be mistaken. Both external and internal evidence have been examined in relation to eight possible authorship candidates; Thomas Dekker emerges as the strongest. The present text of the play is based on the 1605 Quarto. Collation of twelve copies revealed several press variants. The introduction treats the play's publication and stage-history and takes a critical look at its background and sources, plot and structure, setting, characters, style, themes, and role in the development of Elizabethan-Jacobean drama. An attempt is made to determine the date of composition, as well as the author. A short section is devoted to conjecture about the manuscript copy used for the Quarto and to bibliographical deductions about its treatment in the printing-house. A full commentary glosses obscurities and enlarges on the play's literary, social, and historical allusions. There are textual notes on variants, emendations, and lineation. An appendix reproduces the parable of the Prodigal Son from the 1568 Bishops' Bible. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This study contains a detailed interpretation of the fragmentary play Catharina von Siena by the Sturm-und-Drang (Storm and Stress) poet Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751-1792). Although we have only drafts of this play, the topic, the structure, and the relatively long time Lenz spent on the drama indicate that it was nevertheless an important work. Over three chapters this study approaches the Catharina fragments in various ways, the main focus being on improving our understanding of the text. Before starting on the actual interpretation a few basic questions need to be examined, these relating to the conditions in which the play was created and developed, the choice of subject and themes, the manuscripts and their history, as well as the six editions of Catharina von Siena . For this reason the central interpretative chapter is prefaced by a chapter on the genesis of the play, as well as another chapter on the manuscripts and texts. Since it was not possible to work with original manuscripts, a microfilm and reader print copies of the manuscripts were used. The textual examination was based on the readily available edition by Damm. Where necessary the reading by Titel/Haug and the older text editions by Weinhold, Lewy, Blei and Freye were used to supplement these, and also for the purpose of comparison. A pluralistic methodological approach was applied. A more exact period of time for the creation of Catharina von Siena was defined, information about the way Lenz worked and about his intentions with regard to construction and effect was obtained as well. Through this detailed study of the fragments, correspondence and biographical data, we can establish reasons for the fragmentary character of the play, and are able to ascertain the special nature of the drama. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This thesis presents a critical edition in modern spelling of The London Prodigal, a comedy played by the King's Men and printed in 1605 by Thomas Creede for the publisher Nathaniel Butter. The title-page (photographically reproduced) attributes the play to William Shakespeare. This claim is assessed and judged to be mistaken. Both external and internal evidence have been examined in relation to eight possible authorship candidates; Thomas Dekker emerges as the strongest. The present text of the play is based on the 1605 Quarto. Collation of twelve copies revealed several press variants. The introduction treats the play's publication and stage-history and takes a critical look at its background and sources, plot and structure, setting, characters, style, themes, and role in the development of Elizabethan-Jacobean drama. An attempt is made to determine the date of composition, as well as the author. A short section is devoted to conjecture about the manuscript copy used for the Quarto and to bibliographical deductions about its treatment in the printing-house. A full commentary glosses obscurities and enlarges on the play's literary, social, and historical allusions. There are textual notes on variants, emendations, and lineation. An appendix reproduces the parable of the Prodigal Son from the 1568 Bishops' Bible. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This study contains a detailed interpretation of the fragmentary play Catharina von Siena by the Sturm-und-Drang (Storm and Stress) poet Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751-1792). Although we have only drafts of this play, the topic, the structure, and the relatively long time Lenz spent on the drama indicate that it was nevertheless an important work. Over three chapters this study approaches the Catharina fragments in various ways, the main focus being on improving our understanding of the text. Before starting on the actual interpretation a few basic questions need to be examined, these relating to the conditions in which the play was created and developed, the choice of subject and themes, the manuscripts and their history, as well as the six editions of Catharina von Siena . For this reason the central interpretative chapter is prefaced by a chapter on the genesis of the play, as well as another chapter on the manuscripts and texts. Since it was not possible to work with original manuscripts, a microfilm and reader print copies of the manuscripts were used. The textual examination was based on the readily available edition by Damm. Where necessary the reading by Titel/Haug and the older text editions by Weinhold, Lewy, Blei and Freye were used to supplement these, and also for the purpose of comparison. A pluralistic methodological approach was applied. A more exact period of time for the creation of Catharina von Siena was defined, information about the way Lenz worked and about his intentions with regard to construction and effect was obtained as well. Through this detailed study of the fragments, correspondence and biographical data, we can establish reasons for the fragmentary character of the play, and are able to ascertain the special nature of the drama. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This thesis presents a critical edition in modern spelling of The London Prodigal, a comedy played by the King's Men and printed in 1605 by Thomas Creede for the publisher Nathaniel Butter. The title-page (photographically reproduced) attributes the play to William Shakespeare. This claim is assessed and judged to be mistaken. Both external and internal evidence have been examined in relation to eight possible authorship candidates; Thomas Dekker emerges as the strongest. The present text of the play is based on the 1605 Quarto. Collation of twelve copies revealed several press variants. The introduction treats the play's publication and stage-history and takes a critical look at its background and sources, plot and structure, setting, characters, style, themes, and role in the development of Elizabethan-Jacobean drama. An attempt is made to determine the date of composition, as well as the author. A short section is devoted to conjecture about the manuscript copy used for the Quarto and to bibliographical deductions about its treatment in the printing-house. A full commentary glosses obscurities and enlarges on the play's literary, social, and historical allusions. There are textual notes on variants, emendations, and lineation. An appendix reproduces the parable of the Prodigal Son from the 1568 Bishops' Bible. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This study contains a detailed interpretation of the fragmentary play Catharina von Siena by the Sturm-und-Drang (Storm and Stress) poet Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751-1792). Although we have only drafts of this play, the topic, the structure, and the relatively long time Lenz spent on the drama indicate that it was nevertheless an important work. Over three chapters this study approaches the Catharina fragments in various ways, the main focus being on improving our understanding of the text. Before starting on the actual interpretation a few basic questions need to be examined, these relating to the conditions in which the play was created and developed, the choice of subject and themes, the manuscripts and their history, as well as the six editions of Catharina von Siena . For this reason the central interpretative chapter is prefaced by a chapter on the genesis of the play, as well as another chapter on the manuscripts and texts. Since it was not possible to work with original manuscripts, a microfilm and reader print copies of the manuscripts were used. The textual examination was based on the readily available edition by Damm. Where necessary the reading by Titel/Haug and the older text editions by Weinhold, Lewy, Blei and Freye were used to supplement these, and also for the purpose of comparison. A pluralistic methodological approach was applied. A more exact period of time for the creation of Catharina von Siena was defined, information about the way Lenz worked and about his intentions with regard to construction and effect was obtained as well. Through this detailed study of the fragments, correspondence and biographical data, we can establish reasons for the fragmentary character of the play, and are able to ascertain the special nature of the drama. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This thesis presents a critical edition in modern spelling of The London Prodigal, a comedy played by the King's Men and printed in 1605 by Thomas Creede for the publisher Nathaniel Butter. The title-page (photographically reproduced) attributes the play to William Shakespeare. This claim is assessed and judged to be mistaken. Both external and internal evidence have been examined in relation to eight possible authorship candidates; Thomas Dekker emerges as the strongest. The present text of the play is based on the 1605 Quarto. Collation of twelve copies revealed several press variants. The introduction treats the play's publication and stage-history and takes a critical look at its background and sources, plot and structure, setting, characters, style, themes, and role in the development of Elizabethan-Jacobean drama. An attempt is made to determine the date of composition, as well as the author. A short section is devoted to conjecture about the manuscript copy used for the Quarto and to bibliographical deductions about its treatment in the printing-house. A full commentary glosses obscurities and enlarges on the play's literary, social, and historical allusions. There are textual notes on variants, emendations, and lineation. An appendix reproduces the parable of the Prodigal Son from the 1568 Bishops' Bible. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This study contains a detailed interpretation of the fragmentary play Catharina von Siena by the Sturm-und-Drang (Storm and Stress) poet Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751-1792). Although we have only drafts of this play, the topic, the structure, and the relatively long time Lenz spent on the drama indicate that it was nevertheless an important work. Over three chapters this study approaches the Catharina fragments in various ways, the main focus being on improving our understanding of the text. Before starting on the actual interpretation a few basic questions need to be examined, these relating to the conditions in which the play was created and developed, the choice of subject and themes, the manuscripts and their history, as well as the six editions of Catharina von Siena . For this reason the central interpretative chapter is prefaced by a chapter on the genesis of the play, as well as another chapter on the manuscripts and texts. Since it was not possible to work with original manuscripts, a microfilm and reader print copies of the manuscripts were used. The textual examination was based on the readily available edition by Damm. Where necessary the reading by Titel/Haug and the older text editions by Weinhold, Lewy, Blei and Freye were used to supplement these, and also for the purpose of comparison. A pluralistic methodological approach was applied. A more exact period of time for the creation of Catharina von Siena was defined, information about the way Lenz worked and about his intentions with regard to construction and effect was obtained as well. Through this detailed study of the fragments, correspondence and biographical data, we can establish reasons for the fragmentary character of the play, and are able to ascertain the special nature of the drama. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

During his fifty-year career, the Italian director Giorgio Strehler (1921-1997) staged more plays by Shakespeare than by any other playwright, but only a few of his most recent and successful Shakespearean productions have received international critical attention, and The Tempest he directed in 1978 is among them. Thirty years before however, in 1948, he directed a first, completely different production of the same text. Starting from the theoretical assumption that a theatre performance, as object, exists only in the moment in which it is actually produced, that is, in its reception by the audience, this dissertation has a twofold purpose: to explore the different contexts in which the two productions directed by Strehler were staged, and to underline how, from the beginning of his career he developed a crucial attention for interpretative techniques culminating in the 1978 Tempest. Aside from being based on the same text and from being produced by the same ensemble, the Piccolo Teatro of Milan, though with two radically different acting and technical troupes, the two productions of The Tempest directed by Strehler enlighten the variety of dynamics – from historical, political, and cultural, to more specifically theatrical, technical, and dramaturgical – which interacted within him while he was working at the staging of the play, and emphasizes the centrality of the director in contemporary theatre. Finally, this dissertation examines how the pragmatic process of rehearsal might modify the director's theoretical approach to a text, and shows how the study of a performance consists not just in the quest for its meaning, but in the investigation of how the text is brought to the stage, to that coalescent point that, in order to materialize, demands active participation and involvement from both interpreters and spectators.

Abstract This dissertation constructs an analytical history of gay theatre in Toronto from 1967 to 1985, a period that saw the radical reformation of the city’s gay community and its not-for-profit theatre industry. It undertakes this research using a cultural materialist theoretical frame that enables it to recover the history of gay theatre in Toronto and connect this history to the contemporary development of gay community and theatrical production in the city. By recovering the history of gay theatre in Toronto, this dissertation demonstrates its seminal importance to the history of gay culture in Canada, and to Canadian theatre history. To construct its narrative of gay theatre history in Toronto, this dissertation focuses on three pioneering gay playwrights, John Herbert, Robert Wallace, and Sky Gilbert, historically contextualizing these within three distinct eras of contemporary gay history and Toronto theatre history. Chapter one addresses the years prior to the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada in 1969, analyzing the theatrical development of John Herbert’s Fortune and Men’s Eyes, and the political significance of the New York production’s tour to Toronto’s Central Library Theatre in October 1967. Chapter two examines the rise of gay liberation and the Alternative theatre movements, 1969 to 1976, recovering the production history of Robert Wallace’s long-neglected play, No Deposit, No Return. Chapter three investigates the backlash against gay liberation, the consolidation of gay community as a political minority, and the emergence of AIDS, 1977-1985, focusing on the early career of Sky Gilbert, and the significance of his play, Drag Queens on Trial. Paying close attention to the politics of gay identity and community in Toronto, and providing a thick description of the biographical, social, cultural, and political discourses that shaped the lives of these playwrights and impacted the production and reception of their plays, this dissertation reveals the important part gay theatre played in the reformation of Toronto’s gay community and its not-for-profit theatre industry in this foundational period.