The Taste of the Town

In The Taste of the Town: Shakespearian Comedy and the Early Eighteenth-Century Theater, Katherine West Scheil considers the reception history of Shakespeare's comedies within the context of the Restoration and early eighteenth-century theater, from 1660 until the Licensing Act of 1737. In the absence of an overarching methodology about how to stage and interpret Shakespeare, playwrights of the period were motivated by popular taste, and adapted and appropriated Shakespearian comedy according to current theatrical and cultural trends. Scheil discusses how the popularity of music and dance, poiltical controversies, the fluidity of acting companies, the influence of print culture, a recently edited play, a popular comic actor, a new musical composer, or a novel way of constructing a scene affected the rendition of Shakespeare's comedies to appeal to the taste of town. Thoroughly researched and carefully argued, The Taste of the Town, is a valuable and timely contribution to the understanding of the culture and practice of the Restoration and early eighteenth-century theater; as well as to the history of Shakespeare's early reputation.