"Discourses of the Theatre" examines the conflict over the stage in Renaissance England and over what was perceived as the proliferation of theatrical practices. After the first commercial theatre was established in London in 1576, repeated attacks on the stage and on actors, writers and audiences, made available a language through which to condemn any practice deemed theatrical, deceitful or disruptive of the social order. Drawing upon materialist and feminist theory, Howard explores the ideological function of this anti-theatrical discourse as well as the cultural function of the stage. She challenges the view that the theatre was primarily the servant of monarchical and aristocratic interest and illustrates how new historicism has produced an incomplete picture of early modern theatre.