On December 10, 1948, the United Nations created the first-ever declaration of human rights, adopted as Resolution 217. In it, article 27.1 define the arts as a human right. For the question of theatre-making by underrepresented groups in the early modern age, we have seen that theatre existed on an elastic and ever-expansive spectrum, including both celebration and exchange as well as burdensome taxation. Jews, but not only Jews, used theatre-making as a means of gaining access to audiences they otherwise could not have reached, participating in cultural spaces that increased their own human rights while bringing fame, recognition, and free entertainment to their patrons.

Simonsohn’s look back at research he conducted decades ago reflects a scholar in awe of an historic situation that was distinctive and surprising. He notes the surprising ability of such a small community to impact so much cultural production, as compared with similar communities of Jews living elsewhere. There was something powerful in the Jews of Mantuan Jew’s theatre-making efforts because they occurred in an area that was at the crux of so much artistic production and theatrical innovation. This subject compels a closer look, which is what I have attempted to do in this book.

The questions this book concerns itself with have to do with what happens when the Jew of Mantua, who is both of the Mantuan citizenry and not, performs, participating in representation.