Talking to the audience

"This unique study investigates the ways in which the staging convention of direct address - talking to the audience - constructs selfhood for Shakespeare's characters. By focusing specifically on the relationship between performer and audience, Talking to the Audience examines what happens when the audience finds itself in the presence of a dramatic figure who knows it is there. It is a book concerned with theatrical illusion and with the pleasures and disturbances of seeing 'characters' produced in the moment of performance." "Through analysis of international contemporary productions, Talking to the Audience demonstrates how the study of recent performance helps us to understand both Shakespeare's cultural moment and our own. Its exploration of how theory and practice can inform each other makes this essential reading for all those studying Shakespeare in either a literary or theatrical context."--Jacket.