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The Performance of Critical History in Contemporary Irish Theatre and Film

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The Performance of Critical History in Contemporary Irish Theatre and Film The Performance of Critical History in Contemporary Irish Theatre and Film by Natalie Dawn Harrower A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Centre for Study of Drama University of Toronto © Copyright by Natalie Dawn Harrower 2009 The Performance of Critical History in Contemporary Irish Theatre and Film Natalie Dawn Harrower Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Centre for Study of Drama University of Toronto 2009 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines theatre and film in Ireland between 1988 and 2005, focusing on the plays of Sebastian Barry and Marina Carr, as well as a select group of films from this period. Employing a method of analysis that couples close-readings with attention to socio-cultural context, aesthetic form, and issues of representation, the dissertation demonstrates how theatre and film work to complicate conventional Irish historical narratives and thereby encourages a reassessment of contemporary constructs of Irish identity. The introduction provides a contextual framework for significant contemporaneous social, cultural and economic changes in Ireland, and includes a case study of ‘The Spire,’ a monument unveiled on Dublin’s central boulevard in 2003, which I argue is the architectural metonym for the transitional nature of Celtic Tiger Ireland. The case study explores the aesthetics of the monument, as well as the politicised public debate that ensued, and thereby provides a snapshot of issues relevant to the readings pursued in dissertation’s remaining chapters. ii The discussion of Sebastian Barry’s ‘family plays’ reveals the playwright’s effort to refuse traditional binary conceptions of identity and to proffer, instead, a dramatic landscape that similarly refuses to allow conflict to dominate. Barry’s use of a non-conflictual dramatic form supports his narrative interest in compassion and peaceful resolution, and provides a model for living with otherness that could prove useful in an increasingly diverse and globalised Ireland. Marina Carr’s plays share Barry’s desire to represent aspects of Irish character anew, but they also dramatise how cultural transitions are difficult and never linear, and how the conventional pull of memory and the past has a residual presence in the ‘new’ Ireland. Taken together, these chapters reveal Barry’s hopefulness as an antidote to Carr’s tragic endings. The final chapter provides close readings of several ‘Celtic Tiger’ films, arguing that the representation of landscape is the key lens through which Irish film communicates shifting images of Irish identity. A cycle of films from the first years of the new millennium ekes out a space for new modes of representation through a critical dialogue with major tropes in Irish film history. iii In loving memory of my first teacher – my bright and beautiful mother, Angela Harrower (1947-2008) iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation is a demanding process, but one that is demanding in ways that I did not initially expect. While the intellectual journey was considerable, the emotional and psychological journeys were equally challenging. I am deeply indebted to the many brilliant and kind individuals who have helped me both directly and indirectly in this process. I am grateful to the members of my thesis committee, who provided excellent comments at various stages of the research and writing process, and who also gave me good career advice every step of the way. Domenico Pietropaolo’s philosophical precision has made me more attentive to the broader theoretical implications of my research. David Wilson’s expertise and intellectual rigour kept me honest when it came to the history and politics of modern Ireland, and he also offered me my first lecturing job, which fortuitously allowed me to deepen my understanding of Irish cinema. My greatest debt is to my supervisor, Charlie Keil, who has been a remarkable mentor to me throughout my time at the University of Toronto, and who will continue to be the first person I consult on a range of issues. His generosity and support have been fundamental to my growth as an academic, and I really cannot thank him enough. At the Drama Centre, Luella Massey and Rob Moses have provided friendship while also helping me to navigate the various pathways through the degree. I am thankful for the detailed comments provided by Alan Ackerman on early drafts of several chapters, and I am grateful to Lisa Fitzpatrick, who hosted me several times in Ireland, and shared fantastic conversations about Irish theatre and culture. Michael Sidnell has been a mentor and very important friend to me for years, and was the first person to engage me in a serious academic study of contemporary Irish drama. A SSHRC doctoral fellowship provided tremendous financial support during the PhD, and several research grants from the Drama Centre and the School of Graduate Studies enabled me to take trips to Ireland. I would like to thank Mairead Delaney at the Abbey Theatre archives in Dublin for supporting my research and even joining me for the odd lunch, Ophelia Byrne at the Linen Hall in Belfast for guiding me through the library’s exciting collections, and Sunniva O’Flynn for her navigation through the archives of the Irish Film Institute in Dublin. I could not have made it through this project without the support of my friends and family, who are too numerous to name here. Laura Denison has stood by me throughout this project, providing invaluable feedback and an even more invaluable friendship. Natalie Alvarez has been an excellent sounding board for a variety of ideas, and is also a fantastic research collaborator and friend. Andrew Gillis’ midnight phone dates propelled me through early deadlines, and Phil Hahn has always been there, at any time, for any need. I have been blessed with a loving and supportive family who have encouraged me at every stage in my life and career, and my greatest thanks go to them. My Grandmother Hazel Davy and Aunt Nancy Davy have attended every convocation, and my mother Angela Harrower, father Glenn Harrower, and sister Amber Harrower have been my constant source of support, and my biggest fan club. Finally, I want to thank my partner Michelle Girouard, whose love, caring, and fierce loyalty made it possible for me to complete this project. You put up with a lot, baby. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 1 Introduction: Contemporary Irish Identity: 9 Monument, History, and Memory I. Monument: From Pillar to Spire - Destruction and Construction of Identity . 17 II. History: A Culture in Transition . 31 Changing Ethnographic Patterns . 33 Historiographical Debates . 41 Ireland as Postcolonial or Postnational? . 46 The Celtic Tiger . 50 The Waning Influence of the Catholic Church . 54 III. Memory: The Irish Propensity for the Past . 60 Chapter 2: Mixed Loyalties and Quelled Conflicts: Sebastian Barry’s 69 Dramatic Approach to Irish History Heroes on the Sidelines . 70 The Barry Family Tree . 79 Refusing to Shape History through Binaries . 81 Drama as Conflict? Barry’s Subversion of Expectation . 101 The Reception of Hinterland . 111 Chapter 3: From Bogland to Mount Olympia: Materiality and 120 Mythology in the Plays of Marina Carr Travellers and Bloodlines: Refiguring the Centre and the Margins . 123 The Broken Body and the Grotesque: Inversion of the Inside/Outside Binary . 131 Rage: Addressing Ireland’s Culture of Silence . 141 The Burden of Motherhood . 147 The Land: Complex, Compelling, and Dangerous . 156 The Real and the Mythical Collide . 166 vi The Push-Pull of Memory: Remembrance and Forgetting . 179 Ghosts on Stage . 186 Chapter 4: Landscape as History in Irish Film: 192 Towards a New Image, Towards a New Idyll Landscape Conventions: Rural Idyll and Urban Violence . 193 Rural Unrest: 1990s Complications of Romanticised Landscape . 203 Dark City: The Other Half of the Binary . 218 Cinematic Trends in Post-Celtic Tiger Ireland . 227 Pavee Lackeen and Depictions of Marginalisation . 228 Challenging the Pastoral Ideal: The City as the New Idyll in Goldfish Memory . 234 New Images, New Irishness . 248 Conclusion 255 Works Cited 261 vii PREFACE In times of social upheaval or significant cultural change in the national arena, existing constructions of identity are subject to questioning, scrutiny, and, ultimately, to a degree of revision. Identity is continually being shaped; it is a complex entity that, through its multiple layers, bears the mark of its own temporality. The formation of identity takes place through a process of accretion, where events, ideas, facts, myths, and performances build upon one another to create an ever shifting image of the self. Identity is shaped and reshaped by repetition: it borrows from popular and personal memory, it draws sustenance from the power of myth, and it looks to history for legitimacy. Fundamental changes to a society’s fabric, such as those experienced by Ireland through the 1990s, challenge reigning configurations of identity because they mark a turn away from linear constructions of the past. Ireland experienced rapid and radical changes to its economic, social, and cultural makeup in the final decades of the 20th century; by the time the Celtic Tiger was waning in 2003, for example, Ireland was no longer a poor country in the world, but was instead notably affluent. This major economic change, coupled with a variety of significant changes in social practices and cultural institutions, painted a picture of Ireland that was no longer commensurate with its own historical record; Irish identity, as projected through commerce, policy, and the arts, needed a makeover. The plays and films that constitute this study have contributed to Ireland’s process of redefinition. Writing about the impact of memory on the present, Mieke Bal argues that “...cultural recall is not merely something of which you happen to be a bearer but something that you actually perform, even if, in many instances, such acts are not consciously and wilfully contrived.” Cultural recall is an act of memory, and memory, Bal argues, is “active and situated in the present” (Bal vii).
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