Anyone who knows me personally knows I have an interest in theatre. Working in theatre is how I spent the better part of my professional career. And ever since my college days, I've loved reading classical theatre (though I would have to say the ancient Roman plays have appealed to me the most). When I saw that Dover Publications had this book, <em>Elizabethan Comedies</em>, available, I was quick to request a copy.

If you have an interest in theatre, chances are that you've seen or read a play by Shakespeare, but of course Shakespeare wasn't the only person writing plays at this time. In fact, Shakespeare had a lot of competition (and associates) who were putting together some really quality, entertaining theatre. And you can see that right here with this basic anthology.

Let's face it, not everything Shakespeare wrote was pure gold. Don't believe me? How many times has your local Shakespeare festival staged <em>Midsummer Night's Dream</em>? And how many times have they performed<em> Cymbeline</em>?

Personally, I would love to see more theatre companies, especially Shakespeare companies who are already well equipped to handle the dialogue, would put on some of the other Elizabethan comedies. I don't need to see another conceptualized version of <em>Taming of the Shrew</em> when I've never had a chance to see Ben Jonson's <em>Every Man in His Humour</em>.

This book contains the following six scripts:

<em>Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay</em> by Robert Greene (c. 1589)
<em>The Shoemaker's Holiday, or The Gentle Craft</em> by Thomas Dekker (1600)
<em>All Fools</em> by George Chapman (1605)
<em>Eastward Ho!</em> by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston (1605)
<em>A Trick to Catch the Old One</em> by Thomas Middleton (1607)
<em>Every Man in His Humour</em> by Ben Jonson (1612)

Each of these is well-deserving of being included in this volume and each of these is a really fun read. We know for our Shakespeare studies that 'comedy' doesn't necessarily mean laugh-out-loud funny, but these six plays are generally comedies in our more commonly accepted definition.

I enjoyed the Ben Jonson plays the most, but that's probably no surprise since they seem to be retellings of some of the classic Roman plays.

It is interesting to note that at the end of Every Man in His Humour is the note:
<blockquote>This Comedy was first acted in the year 1598.
By the then Lord Chamberlain his Servants.
The principal Comedians were
Will. Shakespeare.
Ric. Burbadge.
...</blockquote>
And before I get emails ... I know that most of these plays aren't really in the Elizabethan era. Please note that I didn't title this book. I do realize, though, that a book about Jacobean Comedies probably wouldn't get nearly as much attention.

Looking for a good book? <em>Elizabethan Comedies: A Basic Anthology</em> by Dover Thrift Editions is great collection and the perfect way to enjoy some theatre <em>other</em> than Shakespeare, from this era. This is highly recommended.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Let's face it not all of Shakespeare's comedies were stellar. So what did people go to see to have a good time? In this selection of Elizabethan Comedies by Dover Publications is full of surprises and wonderfully entertaining plays that will have laughing. This is theatricality to a high degree as much beloved plays of the period show a quick action and a great sense of word play. that will leave you wishing to see it performed. This has old favorites many will be familiar with, such as "A Trick to Catch the Old One" as well as more obscure works as "Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay". This is a volume not to be missed, if you would like to have a good laugh and see what Shakespeare was competing against and was often bested by.