Staging Ben : A Collection of Essays on the Theatricality of Jonson's Plays

Ben Jonson has frequently been maligned for his antitheatricalism and inability to conceive of his plays as anything other than a reading experience. Staging Ben: A Collection of Essays on the Theatricality of Jonson's Plays offers a rebuttal of this mischaracterization of Jonson's work. Featuring contributions from both Renaissance literature scholars and theatre practitioners, this volume of essays demonstrates the prodigious theatrical imagination of one of the world's most underappreciated dramatists. It explores the problems associated with producing a Jonson play-from length to topicality to cast size-and offers solutions for those who have an interest in bringing Jonson's plays to life. Specific plays explored in this collection are Sejanus, Volpone, The Alchemist, Catiline, and Bartholomew Fair.

Marshall Botvinick is a Lecturer in the Department of Theatre at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He is the author of Jonson: Volpone, published by Palgrave Macmillan, and has also published articles in HowlRound and Film International. He is a professional dramaturg who has worked with numerous theatre companies, including PlayMakers Repertory Company, American Repertory Theater, and Burning Coal Theatre Company.