{"product_id":"masquing-blackness-in-the-tempest-1","title":"Masquing Blackness in The Tempest","description":"\u003cp\u003eCombining early modern historiography with critical race and performance studies,\u003ci\u003e Masquing Blackness \u003c\/i\u003eoffers a historically contextualized examination of the mechanics of blackness in Shakespeare’s \u003ci\u003eThe Tempest\u003c\/i\u003e. The book places Shakespeare’s representations of race into conversation both with Jacobean colonialism and with the widespread calls for racially conscious reform in American theatre that gained national attention in the summer of 2020.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the period between 2021 and 2022, immediately following the Covid-19 lockdowns, there were 37 professional or academic productions of \u003ci\u003eThe Tempest \u003c\/i\u003ein the United States, making it by far the most produced of Shakespeare’s plays. This volume proposes an intriguing tri-part relationship between \u003ci\u003eThe Tempest\u003c\/i\u003e, Ben Jonson’s \u003cem\u003eThe Masque of Blackness\u003c\/em\u003e (1605), and \u003ci\u003eOthello\u003c\/i\u003e (c. 1604). It reveals a shared understanding of race and blackness, one which also shaped Shakespeare's \u003ci\u003eCymbeline\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Winter's Tale\u003c\/i\u003e, likely written alongside \u003ci\u003eThe Tempest\u003c\/i\u003e. Throughout, the book explores the presence of masquing in Shakespeare’s work, both textually and in production, ultimately arguing that \u003ci\u003eThe Tempest\u003c\/i\u003e’s particular staging of race in both early modern and twenty-first-century American production owes a great debt to the coterie court performances of Jacobean masques.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGiven \u003ci\u003eMasquing Blackness’ \u003c\/i\u003edual focus on theatre history and contemporary performance, the book appeals to performance scholars and historians as well as theatrical practitioners and students of American critical race theory. It has a home in graduate and undergraduate courses as well as in the libraries of Shakespeare festival producers, artists, and audiences.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Taylor \u0026 Francis Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55721740239192,"sku":"9781032794082","price":51.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781032794082_ebc2ef0c-8824-44c1-9e98-1c3a80b200f2.jpg?v=1768413622","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/masquing-blackness-in-the-tempest-1","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}