Festive Enterprise: The Business of Drama in Medieval and Renaissance England

Festive Enterprise examines how English Renaissance plays employed forms and practices from medieval and traditional entertainments to signal the expectation of giving from their audiences. It demonstrates how economics and drama cannot be considered separate enterprises in the medieval and Renaissance periods, and how marketplace pressures were at the heart of dramatic form.

Format: Hardback
Length: 260 pages
Publication date: 13 July 2021
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press

In Festive Enterprise, Jill P. Ingram delves into the intricate relationship between economic thought and theatricality, exploring how English Renaissance plays employed various forms and practices from medieval and traditional entertainments to convey the expectation of monetary contributions from their audiences. By challenging the conventional distinction between medieval and Renaissance periods, Ingram adopts a trans-Reformation perspective on dramaturgical strategies, which reflected the urgent need to generate both income and audience approval. Through a comprehensive analysis of diverse genres, including civic ceremonial, mummings, interludes, scripted plays, and university drama, Ingram demonstrates how early moderns adapted medieval money-gathering techniques to signal communal obligations and rewards for supporting theatrical endeavors. Moreover, she shows that economics and drama cannot be viewed as separate entities during the medieval and Renaissance periods, as marketplace pressures played a central role in shaping the dramatic form in both eras.

Festive Enterprise is an groundbreaking study that traces the profound influence of economic forces on the development of drama from medieval civic processions and guild cycle plays to the early Renaissance. This book will captivate scholars of medieval and early modern drama, theater historians, religious historians, Renaissance drama scholars, and students of English literature, drama, and theater. By unraveling the intricate connections between economic thinking and theatricality, Ingram offers a fresh and insightful perspective on the rich tapestry of medieval and Renaissance drama.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780268109080