The Roman Actor

Author(s): Massinger, Philip
Note: Licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert on 11 October 2616.
Date of composition:
  • 1626
Date of first performance: 1626
Date of first publication: 1629
Genre (Annals): Tragedy

Catalogue references: Wiggins: 2190 (Vol. 8)
HIERONIMO/EMOTHE text(s): 1629 quarto transcript
  • 1629 quarto Alsop, Bernard; Fawcet, Thomas Allott, Robert single-play print
      ESTC: S112428 17642 740 for Greg 424a(*); and 741 for Greg 424a 424a
      EEBO-TCP: A07247 - British Library - EEBO record ("texts of H3v and H4r interchanged.") – TCP HTML XML HTML
      Observations: "Leaves H3-H4 exist in two states: in Greg 424a(*), the pages H3v and H4r were transposed; in 424a(†), cancels correct the imposition error" (DEEP)
      · A copy (now at the Folger Shakespeare Library) bears Massinger's handwritten alterations.

  • STC/WING:
  • ESTC:
  • DEEP:
  • Greg:
  • Wiggins:

Early Performances

  • Company: Venue: Date: 1626
    Cast:
      Location: Venue type: unknown
      Note: Licensed on 11 October. Auspices unknown.
      Information source: Harbage, Alfred; Schoenbaum, Samuel; Wagonheim, Sylvia Stoler. Annals of English Drama, 975-1700, 3rd edition. 1989.

    Modern editions

    • White, Martin, ed. The Roman Actor. Massinger, Philip. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2007. The Revels Plays.
    • Gibson, Colin, ed. The Selected Plays of Philip Massinger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978. Renaissance and Restoration Dramatists. Gibson, Colin.
    • Edwards, Philip; Gibson, Colin, ed. The Plays and Poems of Philip Massinger. Vol. 3. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976. 5 vols.
    • Fraser, Russell A.; Rabkin, Norman, ed. Drama of the English Renaissance II: The Stuart Period. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc., 1976.
    • McIlwraith, A. K., ed. Five Stuart Tragedies. London: Oxford University Press, 1953. The Worlds Classics.
    • Sandidge, William Lee, Jr., ed. A Critical Edition of Massinger’s ‘The Roman Actor’. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1929.

    Select Bibliography: Translations

    • FR:
      • Massinger, Philip. "L’acteur romain". Tra. Peyré, Yves. Ed. Cottegnies, Line; Laroque, François; Maguin, Jean-Marie. Théâtre élisabéthain. Paris: Gallimard, 2009. Vol. 2.
    • DE:
      • Massinger, Philip. "Der römische Mime". Tra. Friedrich, Adolf (Graf von Schack). Ed. Friedrich, Adolf (Graf von Schack). Die englischen Dramatiker vor, neben und nach Shakespeare. Stuttgart: Cotta, 1893, p. 373-385.
      • Massinger, Philip. "Der römische Mime". Tra. Gelbcke, Ferdinand Adolf. Ed. Gelbcke, Ferdinand Adolf. Die englische Bühne zu Shakespeare’s Zeit. Leipzig: Brockhaus, 1890, p. 285-376.

    Select Bibliography: Criticism

    • Davey, Kibrina. "To act or not to act? Performing the passions of cuckoldry in Philip Massinger's The Roman Actor and The Duke of Milan". Textus. 2016, vol. 2, 29, p. 143-62.
    • Dunnum, Eric. "'Not to be altered': performance's efficacy and audience reaction in 'The Roman Actor'". Comparative Drama. 2012, vol. 4, 46, p. 517-43.
    • Greenberg, Marissa. "The tyranny of tragedy: catharsis in England and 'The Roman Actor'". Renaissance Drama. 2011, 39, p. 163-96.
    • Tucker, Kenneth. "Philip Massinger's 'The Roman Actor' and other Elizabethan-Jacobean moral plays without morals". Kentucky Philological Review. 2011, 26, p. 51-8.
    • Walen, Denise A. "Theatrical Politics and Political Theatricality in Massinger's 'The Roman Actor'". This Rough Magic: A Peer-Reviewed, Academic, Online Journal Dedicated to the Teaching of Medieval and Renaissance Literature. 2010, , p. 102-108.
    • Angus, Bill. "'The Roman Actor', metadrama, authority, and the audience". Studies in English Literature 1500-1900. 2010, vol. 2, 50, p. 445-64.
    • Pastoor, Charles. "Metadramatic Performances in Hamlet and 'The Roman Actor'". Philological Review. 2006, vol. 1, 32, p. 1-20.
    • Rocklin, Edward L. "Placing the audience at risk: realizing the design of Massinger's 'The Roman Actor'."". Ed. Nelsen, Paul; Schlueter, June. Acts of criticism: performance matters in Shakespeare and his contemporaries: essays in honor of James P. Lusardi. Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 2006, p. 144-58.
    • Delery, Clayton. "Dramatic instruction and misinstruction in Philip Massinger's 'The Roman Actor'". Ed. Payne, Paula Harms. A search for meaning: critical essays on early modern literature. Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 2004, p. 105-14.
    • Reinheimer, David A. "'The Roman Actor', censorship, and dramatic autonomy". Studies in English Literature 1500-1900. 1998, vol. 2, 38, p. 317-32.
    • Limon, Jerzy. "A 'theatrical emblem' in 'The Roman Actor'". Notes and Queries. 1992, vol. 3, 39, p. 371-4.
    • Burt, Richard A. "'Tis writ by me': Massinger's 'The Roman Actor' and the politics of reception in the English Renaissance theatre". Theatre Journal. 1988, vol. 3, 40, p. 332-46.
    • Butler, Martin. "Romans in Britain: 'The Roman Actor' and the Early Stuart Classical Play". Ed. Howard, Douglas. Philip Massinger: A Critical Reassessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985, p. 139-170.
    • Fuzier, Jean. De l'espace de la représentation à la représentation des espaces: Avatars du théâtre dans le théâtre dans 'The Roman Actor' de Philip Massinger (1626). Paris: PU de Paris-Sorbonne, 1984.
    • Wilson, Rod. "Massinger's 'The Roman Actor'". Explicator. 1982, vol. 4, 40, p. 16-17.
    • Mann, Jeanette W. "Printer's copy for 'The Roman Actor'". Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. 1976, 70, p. 395-9.
    • Liebler, Naomi Conn. "Philip Massinger's ''The Roman Actor'' and the idea of the play within a play. {Falta nombre Universidad}, 1976.
    • Hogan, A. P. "Imagery of acting in 'The Roman Actor'". Modern Language Review. 1971, 66, p. 273-81.
    • Thomson, Patricia. "World stage and stage in Massinger's 'Roman Actor'". Neophilologus. 1970, 54, p. 490-26.
    • Davison, Peter H. "The Theme and Structure of 'The Roman Actor'". Journal of the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association. 1963, 19, p. 39-56.
    • Gibson, C. A. "Massinger's Use of His Sources for 'The Roman Actor'". Journal of the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association. 1961, 15, p. 60-72.
    • Crabtree, John Henry, Jr. "Philip Massinger's Use of Rhetoric in 'The Roman Actor'". Furman University Bulletin. 1960, vol. 3, 7, p. 40-58.
    • Crabtree, John Henry, Jr. "Philip Massinger's Use of Rhetoric in 'The Roman Actor'". Furman Studies. 1960, 7, p. 40-58.

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