Synopsis:

This is the first edition of "The Winter's Tale" to be developed by and for the RSC, the world's leading Shakespeare theatre company and it includes unique material to help the reader understand and enjoy Shakespeare on the stage as well as on the page. It is illustrated with photographs of classic and unusual performances. It contains outstanding on-page notes which explain words and phrases unfamiliar to a modern audience, including the slang, political references and bawdy humour often ignored or censored in competing editions. The book includes scene-by-scene summary, offering an easily understandable way into the play; contains a completely new introduction by Jonathan Bate, exploring the text and critical debates around it; a summary of the play's performance history at the RSC and elsewhere; and interviews with important Shakespearean directors Dominic Cooke, Adrian Noble and Barbara Gaines discussing key productions at the RSC.This fresh new edition of one of Shakespeare's last plays, developed with the RSC, presents an easy-to-read overview of the play's performance history, including interviews with directors Dominic Cooke, Adrian Noble and Barbara Gaines, and provides concise scene-by scene analyses and textual notes offering innovative new insights into the text.