Performing Visible Pregnancy in Shakespeare's Plays

This Element explores the influence of social and political attitudes toward the pregnant body on stage costumes.

This Element considers pregnant women and their costumes in the staging of Shakespeare's plays. The author focusses on the varied significance of its presence to actors and directors; explores how the archives to chart this previously under-examined interaction between social conventions, costumes, and the actors who wear them.This Element considers pregnant women and their costumes in the staging of Shakespeare's plays. It examines the connections between a character's costume and the changing social conventions of pregnancy. It questions mid twentieth century productions' reduction and elimination of well-established visible pregnancy costumes. It considers the role played by the sexual revolution in the sixties in visible pregnancy's reinstatement. The Element focusses on the varied significance of its presence to actors and directors and explores the archives to chart this previously under-examined interaction between social conventions, costumes, and the actors who wear them.