Abstract:
The aim of this thesis is to present William Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well, often classified as a 'problem play', as an opportunity for enriched dramatic and pedagogical exploration of Shakespeare’s works by Youth Shakespeare institutions. The first section traverses the extant performance history of All’s Well That Ends Well by examining perceptions of both the play-text and subsequent realised performances. The second section of this thesis presents a case-study of a rehearsal process for the Pop-up Globe Youth Theatre’s production of All’s Well That Ends Well in New Zealand. Through the examination of pedagogical structures utilised by director Rita Stone and the subsequent exploration of textual and staging issues by this young company, a clear illustration of Shakespeare’s potential for challenge and triumph in Youth Shakespeare institutions emerges.