This book is a study of twenty stage productions, adaptations and screen versions of Shakespeare's final Roman play. It makes available for the first time sustained discussions of major productions of the play in four languages and five countries, and explores how Shakespeare's most political drama has been shaped to circumstances radically different from its original early modern staging.

The book offers in-depth analyses of Coriolanus productions covering the post-war era to the twenty-first century, combining close readings of documents and historical contextualisation to productions by the BBC, the Berliner Ensemble, The Katona Jozsef Theatre in communist Hungary, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Britain's National Theatre, The New York Shakespeare Festival, Robert Lepage, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and Ralph Fiennes' major motion picture.