Hamlet: A Guide to the Text and its Theatrical Life John Russell Brown The commentary at the centre of this groundbreaking introduction alerts the reader to what happens on stage during a performance by showing what the text requires from actors and the choices they are offered. By these means, the Handbook demonstrates how an audience responds to plot and dramatic structure, what conflicts and issues are involved as the action unfolds, and the effects of developing expectations and variations of tension and pace. Chapters complementing this core features provide an account of the three original texts, the theatrical conditions of early performances, and the plays' social, political, and cultural contexts. Generous quotations are given from books that influenced the writing of the play, and notable productions and performances are described to illustrate a wide range of interpretations. A concluding chapter quotes from recent critics and offers a number of different ways in which to understand the significance of this tragedy which has proved its enduring appeal. Johns Russell Brown has held chairs of English and Theatre in England and the USA, directed plays in student and professional theatres, and was Associated Director of the Royal National Theatre. His publications include Shakespeare: the Tragedies, Shakespeare and the Theatrical event and Shakespeare Dancing, also published by Palgrave Macmillan