Cheek by Jowl

Cheek by Jowl, founded by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod in 1981, is one of the world's most critically acclaimed classical theatre companies.

Across seventeen productions of Shakespeare (as well as several by his contemporaries and other European dramatists), Cheek by Jowl's experiments with text, space, light and bodies have produced bold reinventions of canonical and lesser-explored plays.

Despite the pre-eminence of the company, its multiple awards and central place in the European repertory, this is the first substantive study of the company's body of work.

This book situates Cheek by Jowl's work within the key institutions and traditions that have shaped the company's development from low-budget beginnings at the Edinburgh Festival to international celebration, while also focusing specifically on the company's use of Shakespeare to drive forward its practice.