As she likes it

As She Likes It is the first attempt to tackle head on the enduring question of how to perform those unruly women at the centre of Shakespeare's comedies. Unique in both Shakespearian and feminist studies, As She Likes It asks how gender politics affects the production of the comedies, and how gender is represented, both in the text and on the stage. Penny Gay takes a fascinating look at the way Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It and Measure for Measure have been staged over the last half a century, when perceptions of gender roles have undergone massive changes. She interrogates, with rigour and great insight, the relationship between a male theatrical establishment and the burgeoning of feminist approaches to performance. As illuminating for practitioners as it will be enjoyable and useful for students, As She Likes It is critical reading for anyone interested in women's experience of theatre.