Doubling: Theory and Practice

Abstract

The theory of Shakespearean doubling cannot be confined to the record of stage practice. Many doubles have stage sanction; some have been tried on stage, but are obviously useless (Ghost/Laertes, Falstaff/Henry IV)¹; many more doubles are theoretically feasible and reflect interesting possibilities in the text. Such conceptual doubles are distinct from inert or routine doubles. It is of no consequence to know whether Flavius or Marullus is told off to learn Strato’s lines. And Shakespeare’s two-part structures constantly create new roles for the actors, many of which have no special interest when linked with other roles. But subterranean linkage between characters, and with it the experimental possibility of doubling, is inherent in Shakespearean drama. The stage’s experiments can at least initiate thought, and perhaps demonstrate conclusion.