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Staging the Shelleys: A Case Study in Romantic Biodrama by Brittany Reid A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Department of English and Film Studies University of Alberta © Brittany Reid, 2018 ii Abstract Although it has been nearly two hundred years since they lived and wrote, Romantic writers Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley continue to haunt the theatre in the twenty-first century. However, it is not only their plays, poems, and novels that have been adapted for the modern stage. Beginning in the twentieth century, renewed interest in the Shelleys’ lives led to the composition of numerous biographical plays based on Mary and Percy’s personal and creative partnership. But while these nineteenth-century writers enjoyed particular moments of such interest in the 1980s, the early twenty-first century has seen this interest flourish like never before. Consequently, the turn of the twenty-first century coincided with an unprecedented increase in the number and variety of plays about the Shelleys’ lives, writing, and literary legacies. As a testament to this recent resurgence, more than twenty theatrical adaptations of the Shelleys have been created and staged in the last twenty years. But although these plays continue to feature both Shelleys, most contemporary biographical plays about the couple now privilege Mary as their focal figure and prioritize her life, writing, and perspective. In this way, these plays represent a creative corollary of a broader cultural shift in interest from Percy to Mary as a biographical subject, which was first initiated in the 1980s through the recovery efforts of Mary Shelley scholars. Consequently, while Percy was the favored biographical subject for more than a century after his death, Mary Shelley has since emerged as a Romantic celebrity and her life story is now being reimagined and retold on the contemporary stage. With this theatrical history and active cultural interest as my point of departure, this project explores this efflorescence through a focused consideration of the Shelleys’ representations through contemporary biographical plays. To that end, I investigate the iii “Shelleyan project” through its representation in contemporary biographical plays—what I call Romantic Biodramas. This dissertation is therefore devoted to the critical examination of the Shelleys’ personal and authorial entanglement, as it has been theatrically imagined in the last twenty years: from 1997 to 2017. I am documenting and examining how theatrical practitioners are relating to the Shelleys, adapting their lives and writing, and practically representing them onstage for contemporary theatre audiences. Most significantly, I have not limited my research to reading the scripts for meaning. Instead, I go beyond the texts themselves to recreate material conditions of production, recover the stories surrounding these plays-in-performance, and actively contribute to the archive of existing performances. To complete my study of these plays and recompose their performance histories, I rely on close reading of play texts and secondary sources, such as reviews, playbills, prompt books or practitioner interviews. Furthermore, my dramaturgical approach entails situating each play by looking at its unique conditions of production, such as geographical location, company mandate, or performance venue, as well as formal, generic, and stylistic elements. My exemplary performance case studies include three plays-in-production: Rose Scollard’s Caves of Fancy (1997) and Darrah Teitel’s The Apology (2011 and 2013). Additionally, my research into Romantic Biodrama also involved a creative approach to the subject through a Performance-as- Research (PaR) component of the project: the writing and staging of a new Romantic Biodrama. Accordingly, my fourth performance case study chronicles the process of bringing Justified Sinners (2017) to life. Finally, I include the full performance text for Justified Sinners, as well as key paratextual resources from its premiere production, to preserve and re-create the unique conditions of production surrounding this Romantic Biodrama. iv Acknowledgements 1. My supervisor, Professor Gary Kelly, and my committee members, Professors Stefano Muneroni and Patricia Demers, for their endless support, guidance, and expert advice throughout this project. I am so fortunate to have this exemplary team of academics and individuals in my corner and very grateful that they agreed to take this journey with me. 2. The Government of Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for providing me with generous support to complete this study. 3. The many theatrical practitioners who offered insight into their experiences of staging the Shelleys and whose interview responses were foundational to this study. I offer my heartfelt gratitude to Jessy Ardern, Helen Buss, Alexander Donovan, Dymphny Dronyk, Audrey Dwyer, Morgan Grau, Kelsi Kalmer, Sarah Karpyshin, Brian Kerby, Jamie Konchak, Curt McKinstry, Brendan McMurtry-Howlett, Anne McWhir, Stefano Muneroni, Kate Newby, Kaitlyn Riordan, Gavin Semple, Rose Scollard, Brian Smith, Mark Smith, Vicki Stroich, Darrah Teitel, and April Viczko. 4. Additionally, my critical understanding of Romantic Biodrama in performance benefitted from the insights of individuals who took part in the staging of plays that were not focalized in this project. My conception of the genre therefore owes much to the generosity of Kristin Atherton, Drew Baumohl, Anne Bertram, Ash Bulayev, Merran Carr-Wiggin, Keith Clouston, Chris Davey, Emily Dendinger, Oscar Derkx, Eric Dyer, Matthew Hales, Romanie Harper, Aaron Harrow, Nora Hussey, Flora Nicholson, Liz Plumpton, Glenda Stirling, and Helen Watts. 5. The team behind Justified Sinners, who helped adapt the play from page to stage and made this dream come true. This includes Professors Gary Kelly and Patricia, whose financial support enabled this production to happen, and Professor Stefano Muneroni, who secured funding and resources through the Department of Drama and devoted so much time, energy, and expertise to Justified Sinners. The creative team, whose outstanding work helped bring this play to life: Jessy Ardern, Roxanne Côté, Alexander Donovan, Morgan Grau, Kelsi Kalmer, and Sarah Karpyshin. Finally, I am so grateful to everyone who came to see the performance and offered their support, feedback, and love. 6. My family, especially my sister for sparking my love of Romanticism and my Mom, my role model, for being there for me every moment of every day. 7. Finally, I am unspeakably thankful for the support and encouragement of my husband and my best love: Taylor. From our Honour’s theses to our Doctoral dissertations, he has been there for me at every turn and I am so lucky to have a partner whom I love and admire so much. As with everything in my life, this project would not have been possible without his advice, encouragement, humour, and enduring faith in me: “As one who feels an unseen spirit / Is my heart when thine is near it.” v Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………........... p. ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………............ p. iv Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………............… p. v List of Illustrations……………………………………………………………………............. p. vi Introduction: The Shelleys’ Theatrical Afterlives…………………………………….................. 1 Caves of Fancy……………………………………………………………………….................. 62 The Apology (2011) …...………………………………………………...…………….............. 138 The Apology (2013) ...………………………………………………………………................. 191 Justified Sinners……………………………………………………………………….........…. 253 Justified Sinners: Performance Text……………………………………….....……….........…. 412 Conclusion: Romantic Biodrama’s Next Stages………………………………………............. 448 Works Cited…………………………….………………..……………………………............. 463 Appendix A: Select Play List of Romantic Biodramas (1997-2017) ...……………….........… 488 Appendix B: Research Pack for Justified Sinners…………………………………….........…. 489 Appendix C: Rehearsal Notes for Justified Sinners’ 2017 Production…………………........... 496 Appendix D: Talkback Transcripts from Justified Sinners’ 2017 Production…………............ 508 vi Appendix E: List of Illustrations 1. Louis Édouard Fournier’s “The Funeral of Shelley” (1889) ..............................................2 2. Caves of Fancy in Performance.........................................................................................65 3. The Rehearsal Process for Caves of Fancy at the University of Calgary..........................96 4. The Rehearsal Process for Caves of Fancy at the University of Calgary, continued........97 5. William Blake’s “Newton” (1795–1805) .......................................................................103 6. Semple’s Early Design Notes from a Caves of Fancy Production Meeting....................104 7. Frontispiece for Museum Wormianum (1655) ................................................................106 8. The Reeve Primary Theatre at the University of Calgary................................................110 9. The Reeve Primary Theatre After the Canopy was Lifted off the Set.............................112 10. Lighting Effects Plan for Caves of Fancy........................................................................114 11. Ground Plan for Caves of Fancy......................................................................................114 12. “The First Resurrection” During Caves of Fancy............................................................115