The essays in this volume rethink Much Ado About Nothing from the standpoint of the New Awareness. Scholars today are by necessity both the products and the producers of this awareness. Moreover, the essays in this collection touch upon problems that are germane to the political climate today and similar to the concerns reflected in this play. Three essays discuss epistemology and determining real information from its simulation. Other essays concern issues that are central to the #MeToo Movement, including rape culture and the credibility of women. Aside from the immediate textual and historical context, other essays address issues of race and gender in adaptations and theatrical productions, especially in young-adult prose adaptations of the play and in theater’s practice of inclusive and race-conscious staging.

Contributions by: Jim Casey, Stephanie Ericson Chamberlain, Anna Graham, Christine Hoffmann, Sélima Lejri, Claire McEachern, Jolene Mendel, Anthony Guy Patricia, W. Reginald Rampone, Kelsey Ridge, Jami Rogers, Kathleen Kalpin Smith, Philip Goldfarb Styrt, Joseph Sullivan, Nicholas Utzig