Shakespeare and Amateur Performance
A Cultural History

'A groundbreaking and utterly fascinating study … Nobody understands the history of Shakespeare in performance - or how deeply four centuries of amateur productions have shaped our culture - better than Michael Dobson.' James Shapiro, Columbia University

'[A] generous and fascinating study.' The Guardian

'Never patronising, Dobson writes movingly and wittily, stressing the slipperiness of the category of 'amateur' … He offers a fascinating alternative history of Shakespeare … Dobson's is a loving book, not in the obsequious manner of professional Bardolators, but in a way Nick Bottom the weaver would understand: 'A very good piece of work, I assure you, and a merry'.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

'Groundbreaking.' Around the Globe

'Michael Dobson has opened the lid of a treasure chest of gems.' Literary Review

'Readable, entertaining and provocative.' The Times Literary Supplement

' … [the author's] new book … breaks unfamiliar and entertaining ground … an enjoyable book …' The Oxford Magazine

'… [a] thoroughly enjoyable book … Dobson's study is compendious … [His] enthusiasm for his subject is infectious, and this book is not only a 'cultural history' of how Shakespeare's plays spread across England and continents, and what roles they performed as they spread, but also a very affectionate evocation of summers of Shakespeare under the chestnut trees.' Jessica Munns, Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Theatre Research

'This is indeed a groundbreaking monograph, which effectively ushers in a new field of research on amateur stagings, making up for its marginalization in academic studies.' Rosy Colombo, Memori Di Shakespeare