2004 Stevens Award for Best New Essay

Award: 
Martin Stevens Award
Award Year: 
2004

Winner: Johnston, Alexandra F. “The Feast of Corpus Christi in the West Country.” Early Theatre 6, no. 1 (2003): 15–34.

Members of the committee were agreed that Johnston's challenge to the idea of the "Corpus Christi play" both demanded a radical rethinking of early English drama and presented new evidence to extend scholarly understanding of the problems surrounding that idea. The new material from the West Country informed several important discussions at different levels: of a broader dramatic context, including a range of mid-summer festivities; of the power struggle in 1414-49 between the ecclesiastical and civic authorities in Exeter and the role of public spectacle therein; and of the probable nature of the Exeter Skinners' play. These discussions demonstrated careful management of the evidence supporting the argument, and a grace and clarity of expression that made the work both easier and more enjoyable to assimilate.