A history of Shakespeare’s play in performance, from John Dryden’s Restoration adaptation to the rediscovery of the play in the twentieth century. What made this play so relevant to audiences who had lived through the horrors of two world wars and the rise of fascism? Why did it speak so directly to the ‘angry young men’ of the post-war generation and to the countercultural movements of the 1960s? This book investigates the many ways in which modern directors and actors have found their own world reflected in the play, from anti-war protests and the sexual revolution to feminism and postcolonialism. In doing so, it explores the play’s own complexity and its refusal to give easy answers.