Showing papers in "Studies in Theatre and Performance in 2017"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that costume is a vital element of performance practice, as well as an extra-daily component of our social lives, that affords distinct methods for critiquing how appearance is sustained, disciplined and regulated.
Abstract: In this article I present an argument for a proposed focus of ‘critical costume’ Critical Costume, as a research platform, was founded in 2013 to promote new debate and scholarship on the status of costume in contemporary art and culture We have now hosted two biennial conferences and exhibitions (Edge Hill University 2013, Aalto University 2015) These events have exposed an international appetite for a renewed look at how costume is studied, practiced and theorized Significantly, Critical Costume is focused on an inclusive remit that is interdisciplinary and supports a range of 'voices': from theatre and anthropology scholars to working artists In that regard, I offer an initial argument for how we might collectively navigate this interdisciplinary 'pocket of practice' with reference to other self-identified critical approaches to art practice By focusing on an interdisciplinary perspective on costume, my intention is to invite new readings and connections between popular practices, such as Halloween and cosplay, with the refined crafts of theatrical and film professionals I argue that costume is a vital element of performance practice, as well as an extra-daily component of our social lives, that affords distinct methods for critiquing how appearance is sustained, disciplined and regulated I conclude by offering a position on the provocation of critical costume and a word of caution on the argument for disciplinarity
17 citations
TL;DR: A little over half a century ago, in his seminal work The Theatre of the Absurd Martin Esslin both demarcated a genre of theatre and also defined the philosophical and aesthetic contours by and thr...
Abstract: A little over half a century ago, in his seminal work The Theatre of the Absurd Martin Esslin both demarcated a genre of theatre and also defined the philosophical and aesthetic contours by and thr...
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify varied "politics" that influence the practice of scenography in community theatre performance, highlighting the creativity, versatility and need for personnel development with specialised interest to the technical needs of community theatre practice.
Abstract: Community theatre has for a long time been considered as an ‘alternate’ to the main stream, a practice on the margins. Scholarly attention to the practice of scenography within community theatre performance practice occupies the periphery of a discipline that is already on the fringe. Through the use of two practice-as-research case studies in two cities in Zimbabwe and South Africa, this paper identifies varied ‘politics’ that influences the practice of scenography. The interrogation of these politics highlights the creativity, versatility and lay bare the challenges and need for personnel development with specialised interest to the technical needs of community theatre practice.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the resonances of Orton's work for contemporary queer audiences and propose a reading strategy that does not twist it to fit a "neat" reading, in part because such readings tend to smooth out the more difficult elements of the work.
Abstract: This paper investigates the resonances of Orton’s work for contemporary queer audiences. By presenting potential reasons for the rise and fall in popularity and visibility of Orton’s work for queer and gay audiences through the 1980s and 1990s, this paper looks to the queer context in which Joe Orton’s work developed in order to explore the queer social history into which it fits. This sense of queer history is linked to contemporary notions of queer theorising about temporalities and queer dramaturgy, which offers potentially novel ways of engaging with Orton’s work queerly without twisting it to fit a ‘neat’ reading, in part because such readings tend to ‘smooth out’ the more difficult elements of the work. In particular, the paper explores the theatrical form of farce, often articulated as conservative, in relation to queer positions, which are quite the opposite. In so doing, the paper, by way of queer temporalities and work on queer dramaturgies, sketches out a reading strategy that does not ...
7 citations
TL;DR: Orton and Halliwell's neglected Shakespeare dust jackets are as subversive as the better-known covers of the popular and middlebrow library books they reworked as discussed by the authors Their collages ironise or queer Shakespeare's themes and contest critical authority by focusing specifically on Arden editions.
Abstract: This essay considers Joe Orton's relationship to Shakespeare through the library book covers that he redesigned with his partner Kenneth Halliwell and through his plays It proposes that Orton and Halliwell's neglected Shakespeare dust jackets are as subversive as the better-known covers of the popular and middlebrow library books they reworked Their collages ironise or queer Shakespeare's themes and contest critical authority By focusing specifically on Arden editions, Orton and Halliwell resist the gentrification of Shakespeare engendered by elitist academic discourse and bourgeois spaces such as the public library and the theatre The same irreverent attitude to Shakespeare is evident in Orton's plays Although he admired, identified with and drew inspiration from his predecessor, Orton recycles Shakespeare's plots, lines and motifs to transform their class politics and to amplify their sexual dissidence Overall, this essay contends that by reshaping Shakespeare from a working class, queer p
7 citations
TL;DR: Sirotkina and Smith as discussed by the authors explored the sensing body as a source of personal knowledge and point of esthetic and scientific investigation, focusing on Russia from the point of view of sensing body.
Abstract: In this book, Irina Sirotkina and Roger Smith explore the sensing body as a source of personal knowledge and point of esthetic and scientific investigation. The authors’ focus is Russia from the la...
6 citations
TL;DR: Orton's Until She Screams as mentioned in this paper sketch was a precursor to the themes and ideas in Enttaining Mr Sloane (1964) and Loot (1966), as well as the style and tone of the next play he was planning, a historical farce provisionally entitled Prick up Your Ears.
Abstract: In February 1967 Joe Orton submitted a sketch, entitled Until She Screams to Kenneth Tynan’s erotic review Oh! Calcutta! Orton did not live to see it performed in his lifetime, and it would not be until the show’s London opening in July 1970 that audiences would get a chance to see this last ‘new’ work by Orton. Overlooked in existing studies on Orton, this article reassesses. Screams. not only in terms of it being a precursor to some of the themes and ideas in Entertaining Mr Sloane (1964) and Loot (1966), but as an indication of what a second draft of Orton’s final full-length play What the Butler Saw (1969) might have resembled, together with the style and tone of the next play he was planning, a historical farce provisionally entitled Prick up Your Ears. The article also assesses the extent to which Orton’s sketch accommodated Tynan’s aims for Oh! Calcutta! as a celebration of sexual liberation at the end of the 1960s, and how far it subverted myths about the permissive society of the late 196...
6 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted a study of play development practices in key state-subsidised English theatres in 2014 and 2015, interviewing literary managers, dramaturgs and directors about their approach to play development.
Abstract: This paper outlines a study of play development practices in key state-subsidised English theatres in 2014 and 2015. Literary managers, dramaturgs and directors were interviewed about their approach to play development in the nine theatres in which they worked: West Yorkshire Playhouse, Plymouth Drum, The Birmingham Repertory Theatre, The Mercury Theatre, The Liverpool Everyman, The Manchester Royal Exchange, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal Court Theatre and The National Theatre. This paper outlines the context of this study, including an examination of existing theoretical and empirical research on contemporary, English play development. It outlines the methodology used for the data collection, presents the interview responses and concludes with a short summary of some key findings.
5 citations
4 citations
TL;DR: A quarter of a century has passed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union made available an abundance of long-concealed, uncensored documents on the work of Konstantin Stanislavsky as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Just over a quarter of a century has passed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union made available an abundance of long-concealed, uncensored documents on the work of Konstantin Stanislavsky. As ...
3 citations
TL;DR: The global dimension of applied theatre, together with its subject, health, makes it a valuable if not unique contribution to the field of applied theater as mentioned in this paper, where the authors provide an overview of the global field.
Abstract: The global dimension of this book, together with its subject, health, makes it a valuable if not unique contribution to the field of applied theatre. Part 1 provides an overview of the global field...
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The three-volume series edited by John Bull and Graham Saunders as mentioned in this paper fills a gap in theatre and performance studies by tracing the history and contribution of small-scale artists and artists.
Abstract: The three-volume series edited by John Bull and Graham Saunders, of which this volume forms a part, fills a gap in theatre and performance studies by tracing the history and contribution of small- ...
TL;DR: Queer Dramaturgies brings together a collection of essays, by both up-and-coming and established queer scholars, specializing in the study of the live experience of queer performances rather than t...
Abstract: Queer Dramaturgies brings together a collection of essays, by both up-and-coming and established queer scholars, specializing in the study of the live experience of queer performances rather than t...
TL;DR: The authors explored Orton's self-presentation through clothing, his understanding of the politics of dress and the invitation and challenge this offered to audiences of his work and interviews, as well as his partner Kenneth Halliwell's clothing and challenges the still depressingly pervasive view of him as a middle aged nonentity.
Abstract: It is fitting that the prurient fascination that surrounds Joe Orton’s life, work and death should be fed by Orton’s determination to position his body in the public eye. It is hard to think of another playwright whose naked, or semi-naked, body has appeared in print so often, or indeed, at all. In this respect, as in many others, Orton stands out from his contemporaries. Through detailed analysis of his diaries, correspondence and interviews as well as close study of photographs of him this essay explores Orton’s self-presentation through clothing, his understanding of the politics of dress and the invitation and challenge this offered to audiences of his work and interviews. This project also requires a detailed consideration of Orton’s partner Kenneth Halliwell’s clothing and challenges the still depressingly pervasive view of him as a middle aged nonentity’. Developing Simon Shepherd’s work on Orton in Because We’re Queers (1989) in to the realm of material culture I suggest that, like the col...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine their practice-as-research pieces What The Money Meant and SERVUS! in terms of how their design and delivery make visible those labour and exchange relations characteristic of late capitalism.
Abstract: In this article, I examine my practice-as-research pieces What The Money Meant and SERVUS! in terms of how their design and delivery make visible those labour and exchange relations characteristic of late capitalism. After a brief introduction, I take the reader through theoretical debates around service work’s proliferation and existing arguments about its relationship to performance, as well as an argument for the ‘agonistic’ potential of aesthetic activity. I move on to argue that SERVUS! provides an example of how the one-to-one performance form can both reveal reification in action and rupture or speak back to its enactment, via techniques including explicit payment, over-enunciation or ‘flourish’ and what I term affective dissonance. I then demonstrate how What The Money Meant extends these techniques by applying them across a specific scenographic design and participatory structure. What The Money Meant invites audience members to communicate with the performer by tipping, which I argue mig...
TL;DR: Both the representation of recent wars onstage and the relationship between theatre and the aftermath of 9/11 have been the subject of several publications in the last few years as mentioned in this paper, including Soncini's mon...
Abstract: Both the representation of recent wars onstage and the relationship between theatre and the aftermath of 9/11 have been the subject of several publications in the last few years. Sara Soncini’s mon...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss one attempt by Palestinian women theatre-makers to unsettle the high value Palestinian society places on the patriarchal roles of wife and mother, and argue that Shakespeare's Sisters functions at two discursive levels.
Abstract: This article discusses one attempt by Palestinian women theatre-makers to unsettle the high value Palestinian society places on the patriarchal roles of wife and mother. It results from doctoral fieldwork carried out from April to July 2014. During this time, I attended a performance of Al-Harah Theatre’s Shakespeare’s Sisters in Bethlehem, and conducted interviews with artistic director Raeda Ghazaleh. Shakespeare’s Sisters began as a research project on Palestinian attitudes towards single, divorced and widowed women aged over thirty followed by a series of workshops with women from Beit Jala in the West Bank. The research and workshops provided the inspiration for the script, which was written in conversation with the actors. The play opened in Jordan in December 2013, and toured across the West Bank from January to May 2014. In total, twenty-one performances took place. In this article, I argue that Shakespeare’s Sisters functions at two discursive levels. First, it presents the Palestinian ho...
TL;DR: The Contemporary American Monologue as discussed by the authors picks up where Deborah R. Geis, who passed the torch with her foreword, left off in Postmodern Theatric(k)s, her 1993 study of monolo...
Abstract: Eddie Paterson’s The Contemporary American Monologue proposes picking up where Deborah R. Geis, who passes the torch with her foreword, left off in Postmodern Theatric(k)s, her 1993 study of monolo...
TL;DR: Meredith Morse as discussed by the authors provides a welcome addition to writing on postmodern dance in the 1960s and fills an overdue gap in the literature of this period with a thoughtful exposition of Simone Forti.
Abstract: Meredith Morse’s thoughtful exposition of Simone Forti provides a welcome addition to writing on postmodern dance in the 1960s and fills an overdue gap in the literature of this period. Much is wri...
TL;DR: The first U.K. commission for contemporary performance company Rimini Protokoll, Outdoors (2011-2012) as mentioned in this paper, was performed at the National Theatre of Wales.
Abstract: This article details audiences’ responses to Outdoors (2011–2012), the first U.K. commission for contemporary performance company Rimini Protokoll. Collaborating with Wales’ brand new English langu...
TL;DR: In this article, an edited version of a series of conversations that took place between the two researchers following performances of The House in late 2015 and early 2016 is described. But their aim in these convers...
Abstract: This dialogue is an edited version of a series of conversations that took place between the two researchers following performances of The House in late 2015 and early 2016. Our aim in these convers...
TL;DR: In this paper, an iconic proponent of embodied, professionally mediated repetition, examining the transnational typology of the telegenic media 'hostess' through a close reading of the author/artist's video artwork Ovation, is considered.
Abstract: The article considers an iconic proponent of embodied, professionally mediated repetition, examining the transnational typology of the telegenic media ‘hostess’ through a close reading of the author/artist’s video artwork Ovation. It provides a description of one feminist artist’s approach to fighting the feminised automaton on its constrained, patriarchal terms, while engaging with the potential pitfalls of such an approach as outlined by Rey Chow in Writing Diaspora. It proposes a metaphoric framework of the performative undead to break the methodological deadlock implicit in post-colonial critiques of mimesis and ‘remimesis’. Co-opting elements of hostesses’ obsessive and hegemonic image-making to affectively reinform the viewer about the particular conditions of this public and ubiquitous form of gendered labour, the artwork and critical analysis intertwine to argue away from the freshness of radical narcissism and towards a performative epistemology of radically enacted, temporal, ideological...
TL;DR: Early in this remarkable book, Duncan stresses that, during the fin de siecle, Shakespeare was at the centre of "the vibrancy and volition of women's creative networks" as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Early in this remarkable book, Sophie Duncan stresses that, during the fin de siecle, Shakespeare was at the centre of ‘the vibrancy and volition of women’s creative networks’ (6). As the book deve...
TL;DR: A fascinating and scholarly book about Italian commedia dell'arte from the 1500s to the 1700s is presented in this article, where the actors were professionals who were expected to improvise their lines.
Abstract: This is a fascinating and scholarly book about Italian commedia dell’arte from the 1500s to the 1700s. In Italian commedia, the actors were professionals who were expected to improvise their lines ...
TL;DR: The authors used news reports of witness evidence at the inquest of the deaths of Orton and Halliwell to examine the relationship between the early Orton industry and the concept of anniversary.
Abstract: Commemoration of the anniversary of the deaths of Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell brings centre-stage an event which has caused difficulties for those writing about Orton. These difficulties mainly originate in John Lahr’s biography, which used the deaths as a frame for viewing Orton’s life and work. This essay attempts to think afresh about those deaths by drawing on texts that pre-date the biography, namely the news reports of witness evidence at the inquest. These texts have very different tone and detail from the biography but get lost under the memory- and archive-management which characterises the early Orton industry. In following where the news reports lead us, the essay takes the opportunity to ask questions about the concept of anniversary.
TL;DR: The British Theatre Companies: 1965-1979, the third published and chronologically the earliest-placed edition in the series of the same name, series editors John Bull and Graham Saunders id... as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Introducing British Theatre Companies: 1965–1979, the third published and chronologically the earliest-placed edition in the series of the same name, series editors John Bull and Graham Saunders id...
TL;DR: The Erpingham Camp as mentioned in this paper is an enactment of a successful proletarian uprising in a British holiday camp, where Orton had an equivocal attitude towards television, yet three of his seven plays first appeared there.
Abstract: Joe Orton had an equivocal attitude towards television, yet three of his seven plays first appeared there. His desire to be both popular and recognisably avant-garde was largely played out through the conflicting demands of television and the theatre. Director Lindsay Anderson, moving towards the realisation of If, a film which enacts a revolution in a British public school, suggested to Orton the possibility of a holiday camp Bacchae which became The Erpingham Camp, an enactment of a successful proletarian uprising in a British holiday camp. The location allowed Orton to satirise the minutiae of consumer culture, and construct the camp as an outpost of a Britain in no longer appropriately imperial guise. Earlier drafts of the play reveal a more anarchic vision, but reinforce the sense that, in his account of the ‘revolution’, Orton draws playfully from more truly theatrical epic sources – Shakespeare and Brecht, in particular. Orton found the quotation in my title in Othello and related it to The...