Most likely this play plays better than it reads. I'm sure that actors have a lot of fun with these changing changeling characters! In the barebones Amazon edition that I read it was often difficult to figure what was going on - the characters frequently use veiled, duplicitous, or purposefully obscure language to hide their intentions or actions from others - or even from themselves!

I'm looking forward to seeing "The Changeling" at Stratford (Ontario) this summer [2017]. ( )

A changeling is a fickle person, a waverer, a person posing as another person, or an idiot. The Changeling portrays them all. The play interchanges not only characters, but authors, too. Written in 1622 by William Rowley and Thomas Middleton, it is one of the most successful collaborations in the history of the theater.

Another Jacobean triumph which has deep meaning to today with the quest for passion above all

New Mermaids are modernized and fully-annotated editions of classic English plays. Each volume includes:¥ The playtext, in modern spelling, edited to the highest bibliographical and textual standardsÂ¥ Textual notes recording significant changes to the copytext and variant readingsÂ¥ Glossing notes explaining obscure words and word-playÂ¥ Critical, contextual and staging notesÂ¥ Photographs of productions where applicableÂ¥ A full introduction which provides a critical account of the play, the staging conventions of the time and recent stage history; discusses authorship, date, sources and the text; and gives guidance for further reading.Edited and updated by leading scholars and printed in a clear, easy-to-use format, New Mermaids offer invaluable guidance for actor, student, and theatre-goer alike.