ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses some of the key textual, historical, religious, and geopolitical issues that were sparked by the city of Chester's unexpected decision to once again mount their plays. It focuses the pro-protestant anti-Catholic character of Edwardian court productions. But Catholic response to such theatrical condemnation was not on the same level, instead mostly moderating or muddling sectarian divisions in order to focus on what was the same in both religious views. The book discusses Alexandra Johnston analyzes her experiences reconstructing the script of the Chester plays as they were performed in 1572, using only Goodman's eye-witness account and the 1591 Chester manuscript as her baseline texts. Chester's civic identity had more at stake than investment in the mere production of its plays.
