Introduction Access and Contestation: Women’s Performance in Early Modern England, Italy, France, and Spain

Abstract

In the professional theatre of early modern England, with rare exceptions, boys and men played women's roles. The success of this theatre industry, both in its own day and subsequently, has obscured other forms and sites of performance, enabling the assumption that all-male performance was the early modern norm and, concomitantly, that women did not perform. Recently, however, a growing body of scholarship has questioned the story of the 'all-male' stage and concluded that it requires radical rethinking. 1 This special issue on women and performance continues the project of rethinking, offering new instances of women's performance and assessing how performance made a difference for women, both culturally and in their own lives. In the process it seeks to supplement the paradigm of the 'all-male' stage with a more inclusive model of performance, multidisciplinary, transnational, and open to women's integral participation in the performance world of early modern England and continental Europe.At the highest levels of society, queens, countesses, and other elite ladies not only patronized performances and particular performers but also appeared on stage as performers themselves, often in extravagant court entertainments produced for English aristocrats and foreign diplomats. Beyond London, women's performance was a significant, customary feature: women from all walks of life sponsored, played in, and provided material support for performances including parish dramas, May games, local pageants, and various forms of festive dance. Across the channel, women were famous as professional performers in Italy, Spain, and France. They led companies, developed new theatrical forms, and dazzled audiences with their virtuosic displays of theatrical skill. Furthermore, these actresses were known