'The soul of lively action': instructing movement in the comedies of Nathan Field

This study follows three recent streams of critical development. First is the interest in uncovering the practice of an early modern actor: his cues, rehearsals, gestures, preparation. Second is the engagement with ‘original practice’ and what it can tell us about early modern playing conditions, in seeking to connect past and present, and in considering the meaning of historically informed practices for modern performers. Third, there is the development of early modern print text mining online which echoes a growth in statistical engagement with texts. This project draws on all three of these lines of research. It examines one possible element of practice familiar to an early modern player through the medium of one playwright where it may be unusually foregrounded. That is, the use of advice and instruction to action received through stage directions and embedded instructions in the comedies of Nathan Field. To do this it considers the statistical evidence for and against the null hypothesis that there is nothing distinctive in the use of this data. At the same time, it contextualises the purpose of instructional content by considering its relationship with performance, both through close reading and through practical research. Nathan Field was the leading player of The Children of the Revels and wrote two comedies ‘A Woman is a Weathercock’ and ‘Amends for Ladies’ which bear his sole name, co-authoring several more plays. He was also one of the most famous (and infamous) actors of his day whose working life was entirely in the theatre. This explores one element of a professional actor-playwright’s technique.