Looking at Shakespeare: A Visual History of Twentieth-Century Performance. By Dennis Kennedy. Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001; pp. xxv + 408 + illus. $90 hardcover, $30 paperback

Extract

Cambridge University Press issued the first edition of this magnificent book in 1993. Kennedy's insightful work explores how the scenography of Shakespearean production “transmits meaning” and how directorial treatment of plays from the canon signal cultural disposition. The 358-page first edition attracted critical kudos and quickly earned a place on many university reading lists. This second edition adds a complementary chapter to look at selected examples of international Shakespearean production from the final decade of the century that the book surveys. The enhanced contents add forty-five new pages of incisive commentary that include twenty-two black-and-white production photos (plus two new color plates to accompany the original twenty-one). Cambridge prints this augmented edition on a brighter gloss stock than the original, making an already richly visual volumeone where scrutiny of pictures is integral to appreciation of critical perspectiveeven more eye-friendly.