Review: Meagher, John C., Shakespeare’s Shakespeare: How the Plays Were Made, London, Bloomsbury Academy, 2015 (1997)

Shakespeare’s concern as a dramatist was to turn stories into success- ful plays. He understood the subtle procedures of stagecraft, needed to help create effective performances. But what exactly were his prin- ciples in matters of dramaturgy? The term ‘dramaturgy’ covers both the literary and directorial aspects of staging a play. It involves the ability to devise a text for performance, and consequently to adapt it for the company staging it.