MERCURY AND METATHEATRE: THEANTELOGIUMIN PLAUTUS' AMPHITRUO

In the early nineteenth century in England an actor by the name of Robert Coatesl is said to have become so popular on account of his bad acting that people flocked from all over to attend his performances in the Regency Theatre in London. He went about for years in a Romeo costume, hoping to gain the part. When this eventually came to pass, his atrocious acting made him an overnight star: he tried to rewrite Shakespeare; he improvised scenes; he sometimes addressed the spectators in the middle of a scene; and he actually threatened to assault them if they laughed too loudly