The Ghost Theatre
In a fantastical yet mostly recognizable Elizabethan London, teenage Shay, a member of a bird-worshipping religion, joins up with a troupe of boy actors. She finds the theater world exhilarating, though seedy and terrifying at times because of the troupe’s violent patrons. At the center of this world is Nonesuch, a charismatic and enigmatic actor with whom Shay falls in love. Various forces, including an outbreak of plague that closes the theaters, lead Shay and Nonesuch to create the Ghost Theatre, which stages ephemeral, experimental plays in situ. Their rebellions land them in hot water and lead to a painful revelation for Shay.
This is a story of Elizabethan theaters that, refreshingly, does not center Shakespeare, who is mentioned glancingly only once. Instead, it highlights the sinister, and very real, early modern practice of kidnapping children to form acting troupes. Although the action of the book escalates more and more improbably—the book’s main flaw—it’s difficult to resist its charms. Among them is the author’s imagining of the bird-worshipping Aviscultans, an ingenious and plausible creation that lends magic to the story. Another is the undeniable air of punk rock in the characters’ art and rebellion.
