STAGE BUSINESS: BRITAIN’S NEOLIBERAL THEATRE, 1976–2016 ALESSANDRO FERRONE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO October 2018 © Alessandro Ferrone, 2018 ii ABSTRACT Stage Business examines contemporary British drama vis-à-vis the neoliberal economic reforms that have dominated British policy for the last forty years, attending to the material conditions of theatre production amid a thoroughgoing transformation of the arts’ relationship to government, business, and consumer culture. The concretization of neoliberal policy in Britain’s recent political history produced a logical parallel in the country’s theatre history, which has effectively accepted a mixed economy of arts funding and the necessity of cooperation with the worlds of finance and corporate sponsorship. The British stage has, throughout this fraught history, indexed its own complex entanglement with neoliberal consensus politics: on the one hand, playwrights have denounced the rapacious, acquisitive values encouraged by global capitalism and monetarism’s uncontested dominance across the political spectrum; on the other hand, plays have more readily revealed themselves as products of the very market economy they critique, their production histories and formal innovations uncomfortably reproducing the strategies and practices of neoliberal labour markets. In their form and content, the plays discussed in Stage Business account for two trends in contemporary British drama. The first involves an explicit engagement not only with corporate finance and business culture but also with the ways in which neoliberal economics have revised cultural life. Connected to this thematic preoccupation is a structural trend some have called “postdramatic,” involving a rejection of traditional narrative and characterization. This formal fragmentation requires theatre practitioners to make sense of radically open-ended theatre texts, inviting considerable creative collaboration, but it too resembles the outsourcing of labour central to global capitalism. Stage Business thus tells the story of forty years in the British theatre by zooming in on a selection of plays and productions that function as nodes in Britain’s recent iii political, economic, and theatrical history. In so doing, it demonstrates the theatre’s immeasurable value not only in reflecting the cultural and political contexts from which it emerges but also in resisting a neoliberal hegemony that rides roughshod over social democratic values – even when the theatre itself dangerously straddles the line of capitulating to the capitalist marketization of our cultural life. iv DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to two families. The first is the family that raised me and gave me the opportunity to pursue my ambitions. My parents, Antonietta and Oreste, have at every turn sacrificed their comfort and happiness so that I might have a better chance of securing my own. Even trying to express my gratitude reveals the limits of language, but I feel it acutely every day. My sister, Anna – apart from being my best friend and the funniest person I know – is a grounding force during every turbulence. I’ve been so heartened by her earnest interest not just in my work but also in my getting it done. The second family to whom I dedicate this dissertation is the family I chose: my incredibly tight-knit circle of friends, most of whom I’ve known for twenty years – Victoria Morello for twenty-four. Their acceptance, encouragement, and support has meant the world to me. I’m disproportionately lucky to belong to a group of friends that genuinely considers itself a family, and I’m so thankful. The truth is that I would not be the person I am without them. I also want to dedicate my scholastic success to a number of public school teachers who, in their capacity as educators, have had an indelible impact on me. Iva Muzzin encouraged my curiosity and taught me self-directed research. Luana Arlotto helped me overcome my anxiety about public speaking. Mary Laurella published me and made me feel like a writer. Joe Fimiani made me feel like family. Christine Di Carlo inspired me to teach. Clarissa Micallef put my work (and me) on stage. And John Senisi, in a single rehearsal, showed me the extent to which meaning inheres in performance. At a time when teachers in Ontario are being undermined and devalued, I’m compelled to recognize the profound, even transformative, effects they have on their young students, not just as future scholars but as people too. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writing of this dissertation would not have been possible without the personal and professional support of some very special people, who have meant and continue to mean more to me than I’ll ever adequately be able to express. I hope that my acknowledgment of them here does something in the way of recognizing how deeply I value and appreciate them. For nearly a decade, Darren Gobert has been an exemplary advisor, a consummate advocate, a mentor, and a friend. I owe the whole of my professional development to him: without his guidance, encouragement, and criticism, I simply would not be a scholar. It’s a gift to find a mentor who believes in you more than you believe in yourself, and I’ll never quite wrap my head around just how fortunate I’ve been to find exactly that in Darren. Marcia Blumberg has supported and championed my work since I was an undergraduate, and she has consistently gone out of her way to help me throughout my career. Her warmth, patience, and generosity have comforted and strengthened me in ways I cannot overstate. And Marlis Schweitzer has provided me with rigorous feedback and invaluable insight over the course of my doctoral work. By pushing me to continue complicating and refining my ideas, she helped me to arrive at more nuanced, compelling arguments and a final product of which I’m very proud. A number of faculty members at York University have been instrumental in this dissertation: the late Christopher Innes took an early interest in my work and helpfully suggested pathways for my research; Stephen J. Brooke generously helped me to shape my work’s historical and political contexts; and Hersh Zeifman offered insightful criticism during my dissertation’s early stages. I am grateful, too, to several other faculty members – Tina Choi, Terry Goldie, Marie-Christine Leps, Tom Loebel, Liz Pentland, Deanne Williams, Richie Woodall, and Cyndi Zimmerman – whose encouragement and support has meant so much to me. vi And the staff members in the Graduate and Undergraduate English offices, past and present, are due many thanks for their assistance and kindness over the years, especially Kathy Armstrong, Rose Crawford, Emma Posca, Souad Redouane, Laureen Verasammy, and Kimberly Wilson. Many people generously assisted me in the research that went into this dissertation. The archivists, librarians, and staff at the British Library, the National Theatre Studio, and Blythe House at the V&A were patient with me and so helpful during every visit. Cath Badham was generous enough to share when we happened to request the same archival material, a gesture of academic collegiality that heartened and inspired me. Nic Ridout and Michael Gnat helped me sharpen my discussion of Mercury Fur. Mel Kenyon tolerated my stupidity with grace and humour. Tim Crouch met me for a beer when he was in Toronto and asked earnest, interested questions about my work. Simon Stephens leapt to my aid and supplied me with unpublished material to sink my teeth into. And Philip Ridley has dependably responded to my every query with insight, detail, and a willingness to help that has made me an even bigger admirer. I’m also appreciative of the friends and colleagues whose passion for theatre has augmented my own and made me a better scholar and an even more avid theatregoer: Amanda Attrell, Thom Bryce, Derek Gingrich, Thea Fitz-James, Adam Marcinkowski, Bernice Mittertreiner Neal, and Sydney Tran. Finally, I was blessed to belong to the weirdest, dankest, most beautiful family at York, who lifted me up during not only the most demanding year of my academic career but also the most demoralizing period of my professional life. Tyler Ball, Jake Bermel, Mark Buchanan, Sidney Cunningham, Matthew Dunleavy, Vanessa Evans, Mitchell Gauvin, Emily Howe, Diana Jones, Oliver Jones, Ben Taylor, and Rachel Wong: our strange little cult is the unexpected reward of a difficult ordeal, and I treasure that we continue to take such good care of each other. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Dedication iv Acknowledgments v Table of Contents vii List of Figures viii Introduction “Same build, same suits, same hair”: British Drama and the Neoliberal Consensus 1 Chapter One “There’s a strange thing goes on inside a bubble”: Corporate Finance and/at the Theatre 26 Chapter Two “I don’t know when this is”: Theatricalizing Time–Space Compression 75 Chapter Three “A labour intensive rather than material cost”: Diffuse Labour and the Postdramatic 126 Chapter Four “Can I tell you about it?”: Collaborative Sites of Resistance 173 Epilogue 221 Works Cited 232 Appendix: List of Productions Discussed 265 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: A trading scene in Lucy Prebble’s Enron at the Royal Court Theatre, London, September 2009 36 Figure 2: A trading scene in Caryl Churchill’s Serious Money at the Royal Court Theatre, London, March 1987 42 Figure 3: Premiere poster for Lucy