The Chemistry of the Theatre

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. The Chemistry of the Theatre

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Reading the Elements and Compounds

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 3-20

   3. The Chemical Formulas of Blending

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 21-46

   4. Chemical Reactions, or Blending the Components

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 47-67

3. The Chemical Laboratory

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 69-69

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   2. Sculpting the Space, or the Retorts at Play

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 71-98

   3. Sculpting the Time, or the Magical Binder

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 99-123

   4. Sculpting the Language, or Stage Speech

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 124-143

   5. Sculpting the Body, or Embodied Time

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 144-164

4. Retorts of Time: Temporal Conventions

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 165-165

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   2. Soliloquies and Asides: Who’s There?

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 167-188

   3. Theatre-Within-the-Theatre, or Time-Within-the-Time

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 189-208

5. Conclusion

   1. Conclusion

      • Jerzy Limon

      Pages 209-211

6. Back Matter

   Pages 212-246

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This innovative, theoretical work focuses on temporal issues in theatre and the 'chemistry' of theatre - the ways in which a variety of factors in performance combine to make up what we call 'theatre'. Discussing a range of canonical plays, from Shakespeare to Beckett, the book makes a unique contribution to theatre and performance studies.

• stage
• theatre
• William Shakespeare

This is a truly groundbreaking account of theater's chemistry, especially as it relates to time, space, and affect. Having been the Artistic Director of the Gda?sk International Shakespeare Festival for over 14 years, where many of the world's best theatre companies and directors present their work, Limon really knows contemporary theater. He brings this knowledge to this book with remarkable ingenuity and eloquence. The Chemistry of the Theatre is a spectacular accomplishment and a major contribution to theatre studies. - Professor Bryan Reynolds, University of California, Irvine, USA

JERZY LIMON is Professor at the English Institute, University of Gda?sk, Poland. He has published widely on various topics, including three academic books published in English (Gentlemen of a Company, Dangerous Matter, and The Masque of Stuart Culture), and five books that have appeared in Polish; the list of publications includes also over a hundred articles. His most recent works include a book on the theory of 'television theatre', Obroty przestrzeni (Moving Spaces), and articles in such journals as Theatre Research International, Shakespeare Jahrbuch, Journal of Drama Theory and Criticism, New Theatre Quarterly and Cahiers Élisabéthains.  Limon's literary output includes four published novels and translations of plays by William Shakespeare, Thomas Middleton, Philip Massinger and Tom Stoppard. He also runs a theatre project in Gda?sk, which aims at reconstructing an Elizabethan-in-style theatre there, and organizes an annual International Shakespeare Festival.

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