Demarcating Dramaturgy

Demarcating Dramaturgy Mapping Theory onto Practice Jacqueline Louise Bolton Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds Workshop Theatre, School of English August 2011 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his/her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. 11 Acknowledgements This PhD research into Dramaturgy and Literary Management has been conducted under the aegis of an Arts and Humanities Research Council Collaborative Doctoral Award; a collaboration between the University of Leeds and West Yorkshire Playhouse which commenced in September 2005. I am extremely grateful to Alex Chisholm, Associate Director (Literary) at West Yorkshire Playhouse, and Professor Stephen Bottoms and Dr. Kara McKechnie at the University of Leeds for their intellectual and emotional support. Special thanks to Professor Bottoms for his continued commitment over the last eighteen months, for the time and care he has dedicated to reading and responding to my work. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who agreed to be interviewed as part of this research. Thanks in particular to Dr. Peter Boenisch, Gudula Kienemund, Birgit Rasch and Anke Roeder for their insights into German theatre and for making me so welcome in Germany. Special thanks also to Dr. Gilli Bush-Bailey (a.k.a the delightful Miss. Fanny Kelly), Jack Bradley, Sarah Dickenson and Professor Dan Rebellato, for their faith and continued encouragement. Heartfelt love and thanks to my family and friends; I hope you all know how much I've appreciated your support. Thanks in particular to Kimberly Broughton, Glynn Davis, Nwando Ebezie, Dr. James Hudson, Dr. Julia Snell, Dr. Mark Taylor-Batty and Philip, Suzi, Jessica and Thomas Bolton. Special thanks to Anna Devine, for guiding me through the dark times and sharing in the good times. This thesis is dedicated with love to my parents, Peter and Dorothy Bolton. 111 Abstract 'Dramaturgy' and the 'dramaturg' have entered the discourse of English theatre practitioners over the past two decades. For individuals working within subsidized building-based producing theatres, understandings and applications of dramaturgical practice have been significantly shaped by the structures and objectives of literary management - a role, established within the industry since the 1990s, dedicated to the development of new plays and playwrights. In Germany, the dramaturgical profession dates back to the latter half of the eighteenth century and, since the twentieth century, has held a remit inclined more towards the programming and production of theatre works than the developing and commissioning of new theatre writing. In Germany and across mainland Europe, dramaturgs hold a recognized position at the heart of producing structures; in England, the role and status of the dramaturg are less defined. Despite a decade or so of concerted explanation and exploration, the concept of dramaturgy continues to be met with indifference, principally associated with practices of literary management which, this thesis shall argue, risk eliding the critical and creative scope of dramaturgy as it is practised on the continent. Through an assessment of the cultural, philosophical and economic contexts which inform processes of theatre-making, this thesis seeks to articulate and analyse these contrasting practices of dramaturgy. Chapters One and Two focus upon contemporary definitions of dramaturgy in England, addressing the role of the dramaturg within new play development and analysing the impact that distinctions between 'script-led' and 'non-script-Ied' approaches to theatre have had upon the reception of dramaturgical practice. Chapters Three and Four then compare those aspects of German and English theatre practice which I believe critically determine the agency of a dramaturg within production processes. These aspects may be summarized respectively as, on a micro level, the relationship between text and performance and, on a macro-level, the relationship between theatre and society. This thesis regards dramaturgy as a creative practice defined in relation to a shared set of attitudes towards the production and reception of theatre, and argues that a specifically dramaturgical contribution to theatre making rests in this analysis of the dynamic between performance and spectator. IV Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... ii ... Abstract ... ............................................................................ .............. ................ ..... III . Contents ....••.•.•••••..••...••.......••......•••.•.•.•....•.•..•......•••••.••.••.•••..•••.•....•••.•••... ....•...•••.... IV . Preface ••••••••••.•••..•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•.••••••••.•••••••••••••••.••••••••.••••••••••••.•••••.••. VI Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1. Demarcating Dramaturgy ............................................................................... 3 1.i. Institutional Dramaturgy ...................................................................... 6 1.ii. Production Dramaturgy .................................................................... 13 1.iii. New Play Development Dramaturgy and Literary Management.. ... 23 II. Dramaturgical Discourses ........................................................................... 29 Chapter 1 Capitalizing (on) New Writing: New Play Development in the 1990s ................................................................................................................ 39 1.1. Grassroots: writers organize .................................................................... 43 1.2. New writing re-branded ........................................................................... 52 1.3. A 'New Writing industry?' ...................................................................... 61 1.4. New writing and cultural diversity .......................................................... 71 1.5. Literary management at the end of the 2000s .......................................... 79 1.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................... 88 Chapter 2 Two Cultures ........................................................................................ 90 2.1. Dramaturgy: two cultures ........................................................................ 91 2.2. English theatre and a 'two cultures' divide ............................................. 99 2.3. Arts Council categories .......................................................................... 109 2.4. The stakes? ............................................................................................. 116 2.5. Gennan theatre cultures: unpicking the 'weave ofperfonnance' ......... 124 2.6. Dramaturgy: a bridge between cultures ................................................. 135 2.7. Conclusion ............................................................................................. 143 Chapter 3 Theory and Theatre: Play-texts in Performance ............................ 146 3.1. Gennan theatre: playwrights and play-texts .......................................... 154 3.2. English theatre: playwrights and play-texts ........................................... 161 3.3. Case studies: Hedda Gabler and Nathan (Ohne Tite!) ......................... 168 3.4. F.R. Leavis and 'Cambridge English' ................................................... 174 3.5. Hans Robert Jauss and the 'Aesthetics of Reception' ........................... 186 3.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................. 196 v Chapter 4 Theatre as a Cultural Mission: Politics and Subsidy ..................... 199 4.1. The founding of German theatre: the Enlightenment. ........................... 205 4.2. Twentieth-century German theatre: censorship and freedom ................ 215 4.3. English theatre: reform and war ............................................................ 224 4.4. Post-war English theatre: subsidy and policy ........................................ 233 4.5. Contemporary cultural missions ............................................................ 246 4.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................. 253 Conclusion: Mapping Theory onto Practice ...................................................... 255 Appendix ............................................................................................................... 259 Bibliography .......................................................................................................... 262 VI Preface This thesis seeks to assess dramaturgical practice in relation to the producing structures and artistic output of subsidized building-based producing theatres in England and Germany. As shall be elaborated below, my assessment of dramaturgical practice is informed by a residency I held within the Literary Department of West Yorkshire Playhouse between 2005 and 2008. Supervised by Alex Chisholm, Associate Director, Literary, during my time at West Yorkshire Playhouse I was

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