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The Significance of Geographic Location and Architectural Space in the Indenties of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’S Globe

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The Significance of Geographic Location and Architectural Space in the Indenties of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’S Globe ON HALLOWED GROUND: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND ARCHITECTURAL SPACE IN THE INDENTIES OF THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY AND SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Christina Ritter, M.A. The Ohio State University 2007 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. Thomas Postlewait, Advisor Dr. Lesley Ferris Dr. Richard Dutton __________________________ Advisor Theatre Graduate Program ABSTRACT The Shakespeare Memorial Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Shakespeare’s Globe all have shared the unique characteristic of being located in places of significance to the life of William Shakespeare. The Memorial Festival was established in 1879 at Shakespeare’s birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon, and its successor, the RSC, founded in 1960, is likewise based in the town. The new Globe, an attempted replica of the 1599 Globe, opened officially in 1997 and is located in London Southwark, the neighborhood where the original Globe Theatre stood. Of the hundreds of theatre companies around the world dedicated to Shakespeare’s works, only these institutions derived their identities and missions partly from their connections to historically authentic locations. The Memorial Festival prospered largely due to its tie to Stratford. The RSC and Shakespeare’s Globe have also benefited greatly from their connections to their locations. Nonetheless, they have faced artistic and cultural challenges as they have attempted to define their relationships to their significant sites. ii Both locations, Stratford and Southwark, have been the objects of veneration for many theatre enthusiasts. Tourists—or pilgrims—have traveled long distances to experience Shakespeare’s birthplace and burial place (his tomb is also located in Stratford, in Holy Trinity Church), as well as his workplace on the south bank of the Thames in London. Despite this deep veneration, both locations have at various times in their histories been dismissed by critics as unsuitable places for performance. These widely varying attitudes forced the theatre companies to appropriate or reject the notions of authenticity and legitimacy that came with their sites. The companies separate choices on such issues have influenced and, in some cases, dictated, the designs of the theatre buildings in which they have performed. This dissertation traces the histories of the relationships of the Shakespeare Memorial Festival, the RSC, and Shakespeare’s Globe to their respective locations and architectural spaces. In addition, I explore the current relationship between the RSC and the new Globe. Their separate reactions to their significant locations and spaces present competing methods and philosophies concerning theatrical production, and notions of authenticity and heritage. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my advisor, Tom Postlewait, for his help and guidance throughout my graduate studies. I am especially grateful for the insights, patience, and emotional support he provided me during the dissertation-writing process. I also wish to thank Lesley Ferris and Richard Dutton for their comments, time and effort as members of my dissertation committee. I extend my gratitude to Tim Carroll, Andrew Gurr, Clive Mendus, Matt Wolf, and Sam West, who offered invaluable insights about the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’s Globe. Finally, I wish to thank Robert and Marcela Ritter, and Jack Schieffer for their support and encouragement. iv VITA 1999……………………………………..B.A. History, Dartmouth College 2000……………………………………..Post-graduate Classic Acting Course London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) 2004……………………………………..M.A. Theatre, The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Theatre v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract …………………………………………………………………………....ii Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………………...iv Vita ……………………………………………………………………………..…v Chapters: Introduction ………………………………………………………………..1 1. Location, Space, and Authenticity...………………………………………16 2. The Shakespeare Memorial Festival and Stratford-upon-Avon………...…45 Commemoration in Stratford: 1616-1879…………………………49 The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre: 1879-1932…………….……58 The New Modern Theatre: 1932-1959……………………….……78 Case Study: The Shakespeare Memorial Festival and the Stuffed Stag…......................................................................86 3. The Royal Shakespeare Company: Stratford and London………………....93 Peter Hall:1959-1968………....……………………...…………......97 Trevor Nunn:1968-1986…………...………………………….......115 Terry Hands:1986-1991…………………..…………………….....130 Adrian Noble: 1991-2203…………………………………………132 Michael Boyd: 2003-2007………………………………………...138 Case Study: The Wars of the Roses………………………………..143 vi 4. Shakespeare’s Globe and Southwark…………………..…...……………..148 The 1599 Globe…………………………………………………....151 The New Globe…………………………………………………....163 Case Study: Measure for Measure………………………………...188 Conclusion……..…………………….……………….…………………...197 Works Cited ……………………………………………….……………………...205 vii INTRODUCTION The Royal Shakespeare Company, in Stratford-upon-Avon, and Shakespeare’s Globe, in the borough of Southwark in London, are arguably the two most famous Shakespearean performance companies in the world. Theatre enthusiasts on almost every continent recognize their names, and the press, performing arts professionals, and scholars regularly assess their work. Every year huge numbers of spectators purchase tickets to see their productions, and tours of England often include requisite stops at the RSC’s Stratford theatres or at the south bank site of the new Globe. Of course, dozens of other celebrated Shakespeare companies exist, including the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the United States. In fact, successful companies that regularly perform the Bard’s work can be found throughout North America and in numerous countries, including Germany, Italy, France, and Japan. Yet among the myriad Shakespeare companies, the RSC and the new Globe share a distinct characteristic that sets them apart from all of the others: they both are located in places tied to the private and public life of William Shakespeare. The RSC resides in Stratford, where he was born and buried, and the new Globe is situated in 1 the borough of Southwark, where his original theatre stood.1 These places—birthplace and workplace—possess historical, cultural, and even spiritual importance for many people interested in Shakespeare. Indeed, the global admiration for his work has transformed Stratford and Southwark into sacred locations that attract thousands of pilgrims each year. People come to see the sixteenth and seventeenth-century sites associated with the Bard’s life, as well as to experience the nineteenth and twentieth- century sites associated with the performance of his plays. The architectural designs of these latter sites—the performances spaces—were influenced by the heritages of Stratford and Southwark, respectively. The new Globe theatre is the most obvious example; its structure and appearance was largely dictated by its location. Stratford’s theatrical spaces, occupied over the years by the Memorial Festival and the RSC, have also been heavily determined by their geography’s past as well as by people’s varying notions of authenticity. As renowned Shakespeare companies in the early twenty-first century, the RSC and the new Globe clearly share fundamental similarities; but they also differ in many ways and to compare them as exact counterparts would be misleading. Their operational scales, administrative structures, sources of funding, and founding 1 Shakespeare’s plays were performed in a number of theatres during his lifetime, not solely the Globe. Scholars debate whether the construction of the 1599 Globe was merely a compromise for the Chamberlain’s Men (and later the King’s Men) when they discovered they would not be allowed to occupy the Blackfriars theatre in the late sixteenth century, or whether it was indeed their chosen home. 2 missions are all distinct. In addition, their histories vary greatly; the RSC and its predecessor, the Shakespeare Memorial Festival, predate the new Globe by more than a century. The RSC was founded in 1960, but its broader history traces back to 1879, when the Shakespeare Memorial Festival was established in Stratford. For nearly eighties years, this regional festival prospered as a popular annual event attracting locals and tourists alike. The Festival grew steadily over the course of its history, but it never received the critical acclaim that its successor, the RSC, would attain. The Memorial Festival’s location in the small, rural town dedicated to the worship of Shakespeare, led many critics to simply dismiss the artistic endeavors attempted there. Based merely on geography, which was often the case, the bias was unfounded. Lauded actors and directors such as Frank Benson, Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, and Theodore Komisarjevsky, to name but a few, worked at the Festival and received praise for their work there. Yet, frequently, critics did have good reason to discount productions; conservative approaches to staging often ruled in Stratford, resulting in predictable and stale performances. More often than not, the tradition of performance established during the Memorial Festival years was considered one of polite, safe productions. The current RSC was established by Sir Peter Hall. He sought to reassess, and actively change, the status
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