Even in the case of the most famous English dramatist there is little evidence left for us to decide how his plays were first performed. Although it is clear that one production may well influence later productions, this phenomenon has until recently (in theatrical terms: the past hundred years or so) been restricted by the simple fact that virtually all theatrical productions left nothing behind, except for a few words in a newspaper review in most cases. It is possible to speak of the first performance of a play and its original production, but after that, plays lead their own lives and evolve over time and space in accordance with the evolution of trends in acting and performance styles which themselves evolve in accordance with the cultural tastes of audiences over the ages. The play-text, which is about the nearest thing we get to a finished article, can be reworked but, in the case of Shakespeare, the text itself can hardly be said to have a definitive status in any case and may exist in several versions, none of which can be considered definitive. There is no finished article that can be remade. Plays are written, performed, and if successful, revived in new productions.

Download The Case of Shakespeare's Henry V I The status of the play and more Theatre Study notes in PDF only on Docsity!1 Remaking, Redoing or Doing: The Case of Shakespeare’s Henry V I The status of the play In theory the theatre is not concerned by remakes.

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