This collection gathers essays centered on how the performance of early modern drama has provided a method both for engaging with the problem of tyranny and for acts of resistance across different periods and in global contexts. How can the staging of early modern drama help us better understand ideas about, and responses to, repression, persecution, totalitarianism, and opposition? In what ways do early modern plays, when performed at particular historical moments and in particular cultural contexts, provide a means both for reflecting political attitudes and anxieties and for shaping political change? What role does early modern drama in performance have to play—if any—in helping diagnose, confront, and challenge tyranny? 

We welcome essays that address any play or plays from the period (1558–1642) and their performance in any medium, country, culture, or period from the early modern to the 21st century. The focus of proposed essays must be on performance and its contexts rather than on literary or broad historical interpretation. Essays on early modern plays beyond the Shakespearean canon are especially encouraged.

Topics that may be addressed include, but are not limited to:

• Tyranny and resistance in early modern performance
• Tyranny and resistance in stage performance(s) in any later period
• Tyranny and resistance in film, television, or radio adaptations of early modern plays
• Representations of violence and state violence in the performance of early modern plays
• Representations of resistance and rebellion in the performance of early modern plays
• Audience response to tyranny and resistance in the performance of early modern plays
• Political contexts and impacts of the performance of early modern plays
• Performance of early modern drama as propaganda
• Censorship and repression of early modern drama in performance

Anticipated due date for essay drafts will be May 31, 2027.

Essay proposals of no more than 1,000 words and a CV must be submitted to Matteo Pangallo at mapangallo@vcu.edu no later than August 31, 2026.