Shakespeare in the Theatre: Tina Packer

This book examines the work of acclaimed director Tina Packer, founder of Shakespeare & Company, whose ground-breaking approach to performing Shakespeare has made her company among the most vibrant and enduring Shakespeare theatres in America. Tina Packer directed her first Shakespeare play at London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art in 1971. More than 50 years later she continues to direct and teach at Shakespeare & Company, which she founded in Lenox, Massachusetts in 1978. Drawing on new interviews with the original casts and creative teams as well as Tina Packer herself, this book is the first comprehensive analysis of all of her professional Shakespeare productions in their cultural and historical context. Over a career that spans 5 decades, Packer has directed or acted in virtually all of Shakespeare''s plays, along with many other classical and contemporary works. As artistic director she guided her company through times of expansion as well as belt-tightening, driven by her conviction that the purpose of theatre is to heal and that to fulfil that purpose, acting must tell the truth. With in-depth case studies of 12 of her most significant productions, Katharine Goodland offers a clear account of Packer''s work and contribution to Shakespearean theatre in America while illuminating the embedded nature of regional Shakespeare in communities across the United States.

Product details

• Authors: Katharine Goodland
• Assisted by: Peter Holland (Editor), Farah Karim-Cooper (Editor), Stephen Purcell (Editor), Peter Holland (Editor of the series), Holland Peter (Editor of the series), Farah Karim Cooper (Editor of the series), Purcell Stephen (Editor of the series)
• Publisher: Arden shakespeare
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 01.12.2025
• EAN: 9781350205802
• ISBN: 978-1-350-20580-2
• No. of pages: 216
• Series: Shakespeare in the Theatre
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; LITERARY CRITICISM / Shakespeare, PERFORMING ARTS / Theater / Direction & Production, PERFORMING ARTS / Theater / History & Criticism, Theatre: individual actors & directors, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, North America (USA and Canada), Early 21st century c 2000 to c 2050, Shakespeare Studies & Criticism, Theatre direction and production, Relating to Shakespeare / Shakespearean