Shakespeare's Stage Traffic: Imitation, Borrowing and Competition in Renaissance Theatre

'Shakespeare's Stage Traffic: Imitation, Borrowing and Competition in Renaissance Theatre' will be a re-contextualization of all Shakespeare's plays which are in dialogue with anterior dramatic texts. Central to the study is the idea of the circulation of theatrical energy - to adapt a phrase of 1980s New Historicism - as the matter of plays was 'trafficked' amongst playwrights with little regard to origins or originality. Shakespeare re-cast several plays that had already been published anonymously thereby claiming authorship of what would now be seen as the property of others. This work will consider this phenomenon in the light of recent work on the emergence of the author (Lukas Erne and Patrick Cheyney) and ask how Shakespeare contributed to the rise of the author/playwright.
The Introduction will examine Renaissance ideas on imitative and extempore writing expounded, for example, by Thomas Nashe in his preface to Robert Greene's 'Menaphon' and by Greene himself in his dedication to 'The Mirror of Modesty'. Greene's well known attack against Shakespeare for alleged plagiarism will be re-examined in this context.
Chapters one and two will consider early plays, 'The Life and Death of King John' and 'The Taming of the Shrew', which are closely related to existent plays, 'The Troublesome Reign of King John' and 'The Taming of a Shrew', so much so that arguments have been produced claiming that there are lost Shakespearean originals pre-dating the anonymous texts. Each of these chapters will begin with bibliographical investigations into what can be established about auspices and relations between the respective texts. From that point, texts and pre-texts will be contextualized to offer a broader perspective on Shakespeare's engagement with pro-Tudor, patriotic history writing in the case of 'King John' and popular shrew baiting literature in relation to the Shrew plays.
Chapter three will consider the dynamics of 'Richard II' and 'citizen' history, specifically the anonymous play, 'Woodstock', and Marlowe's 'Edward II'. These plays are interred in 'Richard II' and mould it in quite different ways. The preoccupations of Shakespeare's history would seem to be closer to those of the earlier 'citizen' histories and I will explore how their successor engages with them in dialogue about doctrines of resistance and non-resistance.
Chapter four will consider the comedies composed after the configuration of the Lord Chamberlain's Men when, according to Andrew Gurr, there was something of a duopoly in theatrical entertainment. Shakespeare's later comedies are shaped by an awareness of the aesthetics of his competitors: Lyly, Marlowe and Jonson.
Chapter five will examine the prototype - 'The Famous Victories of Henry V' - for the composition of the 'medley history' in '1 and 2 Henry IV' and 'Henry V' .
The subject of chapter six will be 'Hamlet' and the rival repertoires of the children's companies. This chapter will take into account the considerable amount of textual scholarship expended on the texts of 'Hamlet', most recently, by the Arden editors. Like them, I take the position that Q1 has an independent textual and theatrical life. Following the arguments of Knutson, Dessan and others, that the Q1 passage on private plays alludes to the reopening of Paul's and Blackfriars playhouses in 1599, I will explore the implications of the theatrical and textual proximity of Q1 to John Marston's 'Antonio's Revenge'.
The focus of chapter seven will be Shakespeare's 'translation' of Elizabethan plays ('King Leir' and 'Promos and Cassandra').
Chapter eight will explore the relationship of 'Philaster and 'Cymbeline' in the contexts of tragicomedy and 'the matter of Britain'.
Chapter nine will explore Shakespeare's last play, 'Henry VIII', as a late legitimization of chronicle history defined against Rowley's distinctly Protestant history, 'When You See Me You Know Me'.

1.This book will be written to inform both the scholarly community and appeal to a wider audience interested in the competition and rivalries of Shakespeare's theatre. The primary beneficiaries will be academics worldwide interested in Shakespeare, Early Modern theatre and history. The book is engaged with a number of key concerns in current Shakespeare scholarship: intertextuality, authorship, biography and company repertoires. There will be a large professional readership for this material from within Shakespeare studies, Renaissance drama and theatre studies. This book will be particularly valuable for undergraduate and graduate students wanting to locate Shakespeare's work within the cut-and-thrust of Renaissance play production. It is the first book to show over his working life the inter-dependence of Shakespeare's plays and it will thus be read in conjunction with recent literary biography.

2.Schools
There is wide public interest in Shakespeare outside the university. Beyond the academic community, this book represents a re-appraisal of the achievement of the most important English playwright.
I have a strong commitment to forging links between teachers in second and third level education. While teaching at University College Dublin, I was on the Committee for the Association of English Teachers and gave several lectures on Shakespeare to school teachers keen to update their knowledge in the field. I have given several Shakespeare lectures at the Latymer School in Edmonton, London to Year 13 pupils and their teachers and through the University of Hull's Outreach programme, plan to offer lectures to English teachers and pupils in Hull.

3. Theatre and Theatre in Education
It is to be expected that this book will stimulate interest amongst theatre practitioners, especially the RSC and the Globe theatre, conceivably leading to a revival of almost forgotten plays. I have made contact with the Operations Director at Hull Truck and the Head of Research and the Director of Education at the Globe Playhouse. A meeting to discuss the project has been arranged for August 2010. Again, I have a track record of collaborative work with the Theatre. I was Academic Adviser to Classic Stage Ireland and wrote programme notes for the company as well as reviewing productions of Shakespeare in Ireland for Shakespeare Survey.

4. Media and Broadcasting
Two of my earlier books have elicited contributions to Radio broadcasts (Radio 4, 'In Our Time', Elizabethan Revenge, June 2009 and Radio 3, Made in Manchester Productions, 'The First English Opera: the Siege of Rhodes', May 2010). I have made contact with the Creative Director of Made in Manchester Productions about a programme on Shakespeare's Stage Traffic and have received a positive response about its development.