DOCSLIB.ORG

A Practice-As-Research Phd Volume 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

An Investigation into How Engagement with the Context and Processes of Collaborative Devising Affects the Praxis of the Playwright: A Practice-as-Research PhD Volume 1 Karen Morash Submitted for the Degree of PhD October 2016 Goldsmiths, University of London Department of Theatre and Performance 2 This thesis is available for library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signed, Karen Morash 3 Abstract An Investigation into How Engagement with the Context and Processes of Collaborative Devising Affects the Praxis of the Playwright: A Practice-as-Research PhD The central research inquiry of this dissertation is how the experience of working within a collaborative context, employing the processes of devising, affects a playwright. It springs from the presentiment that the processes of devising are significantly different than traditional playwriting methodologies and have the potential to offer short and long-term benefits to both playwright and collaborators. A central focus of the dissertation is the figure of the writer-deviser as a distinctive artist with a particular skillset developed from both devising praxis and standard playwright training (which traditionally does not emphasise collaborative theatre-making). This dissertation therefore examines the historical and contemporary context of the writer-deviser in order to provide a foundation for the presentation and exegesis of my practice-as-research: a play written via the devising process and another play written as a solo playwright. The Introduction to this dissertation serves the function of presenting the central research query and associated areas for exploration. It outlines my methodological approach, placing it within the context of the discourse on performance-related practice-as-research, whilst identifying a gap within this discourse of the treatment of the playwright. Chapter One presents an overview of devising in its historical and contemporary context. The chapter also functions to identify positive aspects of devising which may aid a playwright’s development, and, alternatively, pinpoint problematic issues associated with devising. Chapter Two provides an overview of pedagogical approaches to playwright development. Original research is presented via a playwrights’ survey on training and 4 experiences of devising. Pedagogical approaches which may aid the writer-deviser are identified, and areas of weakness revealed. Chapter Three defines the concept of the writer-deviser, incorporating challenges to the dramatic/postdramatic and text/performance binaries. This is achieved through commentary on historical and contemporary examples of writers working in a collaborative context. Chapter Four further develops the figure of the writer-deviser through a case study of Bryony Lavery, providing a close analysis of two scripts created using devising methodology, and one written as a solo playwright. Chapter Five presents the exegesis of practice-as-research section of this dissertation, with reference to the devised play The 9.21 to Shrub Hill and the non-devised play Playground, which are presented in a section entitled ‘Playscripts’. An outline of the process of both productions is provided, linked closely to the discourse of the preceding chapters of this dissertation. Based on a comparison of the two processes, findings are revealed and suggestions for other writer-deviser practitioners and devising companies are presented in a Toolkit. The conclusion reflects on the argument of the dissertation and its realization within the playscripts, and highlights areas for further investigation. 5 Acknowledgements As is appropriate for a study of the writer-deviser, this dissertation represents the work of an individual, whose endeavours would not have been possible without the collaborative support of a large group of people. I have been most ably guided by the advice, encouragement, knowledge, and good humour of my supervisor, John London, whose enthusiasm for high standards of research and writing has benefitted this dissertation enormously. I have also benefitted from the advice and assistance of other Goldsmiths faculty members and students, including Maria Shevstova, Osita Okagbue, Anna Furse, Robert Gordon, Göze Saner, Mike Richards, Christopher O’Shaughnessy, and Shamea Mia. I am also grateful for the encouraging engagement with my work provided by my examiners, Cass Fleming and Duska Radosavljević. My research has profited greatly from the generosity of a number of practitioners and companies who allowed me access to their rehearsal rooms and/or personal insight into their processes. These include: Anna Furse and Athletes of the Heart; Stella Duffy and the members of the Chaosbaby ensemble; Tom Espiner; Scott Graham; Improbable Theatre; Kate Cayley; Susan Leblanc, Alex Mclean, and the members of Zuppa Theatre; and Miriam Margolyes. In particular, I am indebted to Bryony Lavery and Caryl Churchill, not only for providing me with information on their artistic practices, but for continuing to inspire, provoke, and engage me with their work. In addition, I am highly indebted to the actors, directors, and designers who worked on The 9.21 to Shrub Hill and Playground (credited within each playtext). Their talent, willingness to work in less-than-optimal conditions, and generosity with their time and creative input, not only made these two productions possible, but have left a lasting imprint upon my work as a playwright. I am also highly appreciative of the support, advice, and flexibility offered by Catherine Boyle and Sue Dunderdale, my colleagues in Head for 6 Heights Theatre Company, as well as the dramaturgical support and script-reading services of Charlotte Pedersen, Nicole Martorana, Isabel Stowell-Kaplan, Lauren Cushman, Colette Beard, Tony McEwen, Christy Meyer, Kate York, and Pip Swallow, as well as Ilenka Jelowicki’s casting expertise and assistance. As a mother of two young children, I was reliant upon, and am extremely grateful for, the childcare, work space, and general support provided by: Sarah Moon and the Shoreham Parish Council, Penny Watkins, Sally Hamlyn, Sarah Clarke, Shirley Russell, Ann Eve, Amy Larkin, and, in particular, my wonderful extended family, including Claire Morash (who also provided dissertation-reading services), Judith Moore, Jane Hancock, Fred and Linda Morash, and Carole and John Buchanan. Most importantly, my gratitude for the sacrifices made by my husband, Rick Moore, and my daughters Elsie and Zoë, to enable me to complete my PhD work over the course of six years, is unending. Their love and encouragement have made this dissertation possible. 7 Contents Page VOLUME ONE Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 5 Introduction 10 Chapter One: The Development of Devising as a Methodological 29 Approach to Playmaking Chapter Two: The Pedagogy of Playwriting 75 Chapter Three: The Historical and Contemporary Context of 126 the Writer-Deviser Chapter Four: Bryony Lavery: Case Study of a Career as a 185 Writer-Deviser VOLUME TWO Chapter Five: Exegesis of Practice 224 Toolkit of Observations for Writer-Devisers and Companies 290 Playscripts: The 9.21 to Shrub Hill (Devised Production) 296 Playground (Non-Devised Production) 371 Conclusion 508 APPENDICES Appendix A: Details of UK Postgraduate Playwriting Courses 516 Appendix B: Early Pedagogical Texts 518 Appendix C: Zuppa Theatre’s ‘Rules of Play’ and 523 ‘Hierarchy of Proposals’ 8 Appendix D: Email Correspondence from Scott Graham 525 and Tom Espiner to Karen Morash Appendix E: An Excerpt from Marion Partington’s ‘Salvaging the 531 Sacred’, with Corresponding text from Frozen Appendix F: An Excerpt from Malcom Gladwell’s ‘Damaged’ with 534 Corresponding Text from Frozen Appendix G: Character Map Created for The 9.21 to Shrub Hill 537 Appendix H: Deleted Scene from The 9.21 to Shrub Hill 538 Appendix I: Audience and Actor Questionnaires 541 BIBLIOGRAPHY 543 9 Tables, Charts, and Images Figure 1. Question Two 80 Figure 2. Question Three 80 Figure 3. Question Four 81 Figure 4. Question Seven 82 Figure 5. Question Six 85 Figure 6. Timeline of Work on The 9.21 to Shrub Hill 231 10 Introduction As the methodologies of devising and postdramatic theatre are becoming more prominent in Western theatre and performance, playwrights, such as myself, are looking for pathways beyond traditional, largely Aristotelian, techniques for developing scripts, and into the development of a more holistic approach to theatre-making. The central research inquiry of this practice-as-research (PaR) dissertation is how engagement with collaborative devising praxis affects a playwright’s work, both immediately, within the collaborative context, and long-term. It is the ‘how’ in this query which is important; this is not a positivist research question testing out if devising praxis affects change, against controllable variables. Rather, it begins from an understanding, developed from the observation of other theatre practitioners, but also from my own praxis, that devising methodology does have the potential to change writing methodologies. The purpose of this dissertation’s practice elements and its associated research is an exploration of aspects of devising which have the potential to positively expand a playwright’s
Recommended publications
  • The Influence of Kitchen Sink Drama in John Osborne's

    The Influence of Kitchen Sink Drama in John Osborne's

    IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 23, Issue 9, Ver. 7 (September. 2018) 77-80 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org The Influence of Kitchen Sink Drama In John Osborne’s “ Look Back In Anger” Sadaf Zaman Lecturer University of Bisha Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Corresponding Author: Sadaf Zaman ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Date of Submission:16-09-2018 Date of acceptance: 01-10-2018 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- John Osborne was born in London, England in 1929 to Thomas Osborne, an advertisement writer, and Nellie Beatrice, a working class barmaid. His father died in 1941. Osborne used the proceeds from a life insurance settlement to send himself to Belmont College, a private boarding school. Osborne was expelled after only a few years for attacking the headmaster. He received a certificate of completion for his upper school work, but never attended a college or university. After returning home, Osborne worked several odd jobs before he found a niche in the theater. He began working with Anthony Creighton's provincial touring company where he was a stage hand, actor, and writer. Osborne co-wrote two plays -- The Devil Inside Him and Personal Enemy -- before writing and submittingLook Back in Anger for production. The play, written in a short period of only a few weeks, was summarily rejected by the agents and production companies to whom Osborne first submitted the play. It was eventually picked up by George Devine for production with his failing Royal Court Theater. Both Osborne and the Royal Court Theater were struggling to survive financially and both saw the production of Look Back in Anger as a risk.
  • A Sheffield Hallam University Thesis

    A Sheffield Hallam University Thesis

    Taboo : why are real-life British serial killers rarely represented on film? EARNSHAW, Antony Robert Available from the Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/20984/ A Sheffield Hallam University thesis This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Please visit http://shura.shu.ac.uk/20984/ and http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html for further details about copyright and re-use permissions. Taboo: Why are Real-Life British Serial Killers Rarely Represented on Film? Antony Robert Earnshaw Sheffield Hallam University MA English by Research September 2017 1 Abstract This thesis assesses changing British attitudes to the dramatisation of crimes committed by domestic serial killers and highlights the dearth of films made in this country on this subject. It discusses the notion of taboos and, using empirical and historical research, illustrates how filmmakers’ attempts to initiate productions have been vetoed by social, cultural and political sensitivities. Comparisons are drawn between the prevalence of such product in the United States and its uncommonness in Britain, emphasising the issues around the importing of similar foreign material for exhibition on British cinema screens and the importance of geographic distance to notions of appropriateness. The influence of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is evaluated. This includes a focus on how a central BBFC policy – the so- called 30-year rule of refusing to classify dramatisations of ‘recent’ cases of factual crime – was scrapped and replaced with a case-by-case consideration that allowed for the accommodation of a specific film championing a message of tolerance.
  • From Free Cinema to British New Wave: a Story of Angry Young Men

    From Free Cinema to British New Wave: a Story of Angry Young Men

    SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 1 (2020) 51 From Free Cinema to British New Wave: A Story of Angry Young Men Diego Brodersen* Introduction In February 1956, a group of young film-makers premiered a programme of three documentary films at the National Film Theatre (now the BFI Southbank). Lorenza Mazzetti, Lindsay Anderson, Karel Reisz and Tony Richardson thought at the time that “no film can be too personal”, and vehemently said so in their brief but potent manifesto about Free Cinema. Their documentaries were not only personal, but aimed to show the real working class people in Britain, blending the realistic with the poetic. Three of them would establish themselves as some of the most inventive and irreverent British filmmakers of the 60s, creating iconoclastic works –both in subject matter and in form– such as Saturday Day and Sunday Morning, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and If… Those were the first significant steps of a New British Cinema. They were the Big Screen’s angry young men. What is British cinema? In my opinion, it means many different things. National cinemas are much more than only one idea. I would like to begin this presentation with this question because there have been different genres and types of films in British cinema since the beginning. So, for example, there was a kind of cinema that was very successful, not only in Britain but also in America: the films of the British Empire, the films about the Empire abroad, set in faraway places like India or Egypt. Such films celebrated the glory of the British Empire when the British Empire was almost ending.
  • A Taste of Honey’- Revision Guide

    A Taste of Honey’- Revision Guide

    ‘A TASTE OF HONEY’- REVISION GUIDE Shelagh Delaney Shelagh Delaney was born November 25, 1939, in Salford, Lancashire, England. Her father, a bus inspector, and her mother were part of the English working class, the social group that informs of her writing. Delaney attended Broughton Secondary School but began writing even before she completed her education. She had no further interest in formal education, and after she left school, she held a number of jobs, including salesgirl, usherette, and clerk. The play ‘A Taste of Honey’ was produced when Delaney was eighteen-years-old. Although this play was originally being written as a novel, it was rewritten as a play in response to Delaney’s dissatisfaction with contemporary theatre. Delaney felt that she could write a better play, with more realistic dialogue, than the plays that were currently being staged. ‘A Taste of Honey’ became an unexpected hit, winning several awards both as a play and later as a film.. Delaney’s play opened to mixed reviews. In many cases, her characters were praised for their honest, realistic voices. The play was also singled out for its accurate depictions of working class lives. Delaney believed in social protest and has not been afraid to speak out on the need for a more realistic theatre, one that depicts the working class environment of many British citizens. Theatre of the Absurd/ Social Drama During the 1950s/ 1960s two types of theatre emerged- ‘absurd’ and ‘social’ drama. The term ‘ absurd’ was supposed to describe life as meaningless and this was a reaction to the mainstream post war theatre about the upper classes.
  • Eugenie Pastor-Phd Thesis Moving Intimacies

    Eugenie Pastor-Phd Thesis Moving Intimacies

    MOVING INTIMACIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF “PHYSICAL THEATRES” IN FRANCE AND THE UNITED KINGDOM EUGÉNIE FLEUR PASTOR ROYAL HOLLOWAY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA AND THEATRE A Thesis submitted as a partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Ph.D. August 2014 1 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Eugénie Fleur Pastor, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: ______________________ Date: 7 August 2014 2 ABSTRACT This thesis is an exploration of movement in contemporary “physical theatres”. I develop a renewed understanding of “physical theatres” as embodied framework to experience both spectatorship and theatre-making. I analyse how, in this type of performance, movement blurs distinctions between the intimate and the collective, the inside and the outside, thus challenging definitions of intimacy and tactility. The thesis consists of a comparative study of examples of “physical theatres”, in the 21st century, in France and in the UK. The comparison highlights that “physical theatres” practitioners are under-represented in France, a reason I attribute in part to a terminological absence in the French language. The four case studies range from itinerant company Escale and their athletic embodiment of a political ideal to Jean Lambert-wild’s theatre of “micro-movement”, from Told by an Idiot’s position in a traditional theatre context in the UK to my own work within Little Bulb Theatre, where physicality is virtuosic in its non- virtuosity. For each case study, I use a methodology that echoes this exploration of movement and reflects my position within each fieldwork.
  • Cultural Representations of the Moors Murderers and Yorkshire Ripper Cases

    Cultural Representations of the Moors Murderers and Yorkshire Ripper Cases

    CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE MOORS MURDERERS AND YORKSHIRE RIPPER CASES by HENRIETTA PHILLIPA ANNE MALION PHILLIPS A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Modern Languages School of Languages, Cultures, Art History, and Music College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham October 2016 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract This thesis examines written, audio-visual and musical representations of real-life British serial killers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady (the ‘Moors Murderers’) and Peter Sutcliffe (the ‘Yorkshire Ripper’), from the time of their crimes to the present day, and their proliferation beyond the cases’ immediate historical-legal context. Through the theoretical construct ‘Northientalism’ I interrogate such representations’ replication and engagement of stereotypes and anxieties accruing to the figure of the white working- class ‘Northern’ subject in these cases, within a broader context of pre-existing historical trajectories and generic conventions of Northern and true crime representation. Interrogating changing perceptions of the cultural functions and meanings of murderers in late-capitalist socio-cultural history, I argue that the underlying structure of true crime is the counterbalance between the exceptional and the everyday, in service of which its second crucial structuring technique – the depiction of physical detail – operates.
  • Conference Abstracts and Biographies

    Conference Abstracts and Biographies

    Conference Abstracts and Biographies Listed in alphabetical order by contributor’s surname TaPRA2009 Organizers at the University of Plymouth: Dr Lee Miller Dr Roberta Mock Dr Victor Ramirez Ladron de Guevara www.plymouth.ac.uk/arts/theatre Siân Adieshiah (Performance Identity Community Working Group) University of Lincoln “I just die for some authority! A little touch of leadership, a bit of bracing tyranny!”: Barriers to Utopia in Howard Brenton’s Greenland Written and performed just after Margaret Thatcher’s third election victory in Britain in 1987, Howard Brenton’s final play in his Utopian trilogy, Greenland is an isolated example during this period of a Left playwright’s attempt to construct a utopian future on stage. The second act of Greenland partially resembles classical utopian fiction and in doing so, has led some commentators to dismiss the play as tedious, static and lacking in dramatic interest. The act’s absence of conflict, lack of historicism, and the contentment of its inhabitants have been cited as reasons for its alleged dullness. This interpretation to some extent concurs with the character, Severan-Severan, whose view is that misery and suffering are essential to the human condition and that liberation is a living death. However, this approach neglects a more complex engagement with utopia that is present in the play. Audiences – along with the non-utopian character, Joan – respond to Greenland in a way that can be illuminated by Frederic Jameson’s idea of the ‘terror of obliteration,’ an idea that considers our hostility to utopia to be based upon the inconceivability of altogether different notions of subjectivity available in utopia.
  • 'Drowning in Here in His Bloody Sea' : Exploring TV Cop Drama's

    'Drowning in Here in His Bloody Sea' : Exploring TV Cop Drama's

    'Drowning in here in his bloody sea' : exploring TV cop drama's representations of the impact of stress in modern policing Cummins, ID and King, M http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2015.1112387 Title 'Drowning in here in his bloody sea' : exploring TV cop drama's representations of the impact of stress in modern policing Authors Cummins, ID and King, M Type Article URL This version is available at: http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/38760/ Published Date 2015 USIR is a digital collection of the research output of the University of Salford. Where copyright permits, full text material held in the repository is made freely available online and can be read, downloaded and copied for non-commercial private study or research purposes. Please check the manuscript for any further copyright restrictions. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. Introduction The Criminal Justice System is a part of society that is both familiar and hidden. It is familiar in that a large part of daily news and television drama is devoted to it (Carrabine, 2008; Jewkes, 2011). It is hidden in the sense that the majority of the population have little, if any, direct contact with the Criminal Justice System, meaning that the media may be a major force in shaping their views on crime and policing (Carrabine, 2008). As Reiner (2000) notes, the debate about the relationship between the media, policing, and crime has been a key feature of wider societal concerns about crime since the establishment of the modern police force.
  • Célia Maria Silva Oliveira 995 – 20

    Célia Maria Silva Oliveira 995 – 20

    Universidade do Minho Instituto de Letras e Ciências Humanas 0) 1 Célia Maria Silva Oliveira 995 – 20 From the Margins into the Mainstream: y Williams and Black British Theatre (1 Roy Williams and Black British Theatre (1995 – 2010) tream: Ro he Mains he Margins into t rom t F Célia Maria Silva Oliveira 2 1 UMinho|20 outubro de 2012 Universidade do Minho Instituto de Letras e Ciências Humanas Célia Maria Silva Oliveira From the Margins into the Mainstream: Roy Williams and Black British Theatre (1995 – 2010) Dissertação de Mestrado Mestrado em Estudos Ingleses Trabalho realizado sob a orientação da Professora Doutora Francesca Clare Rayner outubro de 2012 Acknowledgments I would like to thank Professor Francesca Rayner for introducing me to the world of New Writing in Britain and leading me in a quest of discovery. Thank you for the support and for believing in me and in the work that I could do. Thank you for the always open office door and the kind words. Filipe Couto, thank you for seeing qualities in me that I was not aware they existed. Thank you for the image that I have in your eyes. Sérgio Oliveira, more than my brother, my best friend, thank you for the support and the technical help. Sometimes, writing a thesis might have moments of desperation and Daniela and Neuza were always at the distance of a phone call. Thank you for the readings and for listening to my monologues. I would also want to thank all the people that direct and indirectly helped me and were part of this journey.
  • Chapter One – „Digital Technology and Theatres‟……………………………………7

    Chapter One – „Digital Technology and Theatres‟……………………………………7

    Technology; Theatres, Plays and Performance Submitted for assessment to the University of the West of England 2011 for Drama and Creative Writing degree award. Copyright: Hannah Williams Walton 2011 Photo from the Blast Theory website: http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/bt/index.php Abstract Technology is now an integral part of modern society from the internet; to computers, mobile phones and gaming. It is clear that technology has made massive advances to society in terms of connecting the world however we must also examine the disciplines which may be struggling to adapt. The world of arts and theatre is a form that is routed in tradition which brings limitations in how far people are willing to push against normal conventions. This dissertation explores three sections of technology within theatre. „Digital Technology and Theatres‟ which explores the impact that the internet has had on the theatre in terms of marketing; and participation in the arts; looking at specific theatre websites, and the services Digital Theatre and National Theatre Live. „Technology and the internet in contemporary plays‟ looks at Tim Fountain‟s play Sex Addicts that uses the internet live during performance, and the work that contemporary playwrights have developed to stage modern technology within their work. From Patrick Marber‟s chatroom scene in Closer, to Chatroom by Enid Walsh that is set almost entirely in a virtual world. „Digital Performance‟ explores theatre companies and practitioners that are pushing the boundaries between performance and technology, to create contemporary pieces of theatre. The research identified Connected an organisation dedicated to working with artists who use live and interactive media; this included Duncan Speakmen, Hide and Seek and Blast Theory.
  • Hamlet West End Announcement

    Hamlet West End Announcement

    FOLLOWING A CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED & SELL-OUT RUN AT THE ALMEIDA THEATRE HAMLET STARRING THE BAFTA & OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING ANDREW SCOTT AND DIRECTED BY THE MULTI AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR ROBERT ICKE WILL TRANSFER TO THE HAROLD PINTER THEATRE FOR A STRICTLY LIMITED SEASON FROM 9 JUNE – 2 SEPTEMBER 2017 ‘ANDREW SCOTT DELIVERS A CAREER-DEFINING PERFORMANCE… HE MAKES THE MOST FAMOUS SPEECHES FEEL FRESH AND UNPREDICTABLE’ EVENING STANDARD ‘IT IS LIVEWIRE, EDGE-OF-THE-SEAT STUFF’ TIME OUT Olivier Award-winning director, Robert Icke’s (Mary Stuart, The Red Barn, Uncle Vanya, Oresteia, Mr Burns and 1984), ground-breaking and electrifying production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, starring BAFTA award-winner Andrew Scott (Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock, Denial, Spectre, Design For Living and Cock) in the title role, will transfer to the Harold Pinter Theatre, following a critically acclaimed and sell out run at the Almeida Theatre. Hamlet will run for a limited season only from 9 June to 2 September 2017 with press night on Thursday 15 June. Hamlet is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group (Sunday In The Park With George, Buried Child, Oresteia), Sonia Friedman Productions and the Almeida Theatre (Chimerica, Ghosts, King Charles III, 1984, Oresteia), who are renowned for introducing groundbreaking, critically acclaimed transfers to the West End. Rupert Goold, Artistic Director, Almeida Theatre said "We’re delighted that with this transfer more people will be able to experience our production of Hamlet. Robert, Andrew, and the entire Hamlet company have created an unforgettable Shakespeare which we’re looking forward to sharing even more widely over the summer in partnership with Sonia Friedman Productions and ATG.” Robert Icke, Director (and Almeida Theatre Associate Director) said “It has been such a thrill to work with Andrew and the extraordinary company of Hamlet on this play so far, and I'm delighted we're going to continue our work on this play in the West End this summer.
  • An Investigation Into How Engagement with the Context and Processes of Collaborative Devising Affects the Praxis of the Playwright

    An Investigation Into How Engagement with the Context and Processes of Collaborative Devising Affects the Praxis of the Playwright

    An Investigation into How Engagement with the Context and Processes of Collaborative Devising Affects the Praxis of the Playwright: A Practice-as-Research PhD Volume 2 223 Practice-As-Research: The 9.21 to Shrub Hill (Devised Production) Playground (Non-Devised Production) and Accompanying Exegesis 224 Chapter Five Exegesis of the Processes of Creating a Devised Script (The 9.21 to Shrub Hill) and Non-Devised Script (Playground) Introduction The preceding chapters have created a framework for the analysis of my own experiences as a writer-deviser. Without this framework, it would be difficult to situate my practice within a theoretical context, since a similar academic discourse, placing the writer-deviser at the heart of the study, does not exist. As highlighted in the Introduction, the central query of this dissertation is how engagement with devising affects a playwright. This is a query with important ramifications for pedagogical practice and the discourses of devising and playwriting in general, but also represents a significant investigation in the development of my own artistic practice. As previously discussed, my methodological approach encompasses both research-led practice, and practice-led research.1 The preceding chapters have informed the development of the two scripts contained within this volume, and the development of the two scripts directed the focus of my research. As with most PaR investigations, the findings resulting from the practice share equal weighting (if not, in the case of some researchers, more) with those discoveries made from traditional, text-based research methodologies. Whilst I explore the ramifications of devising practice on my writing, I am also placing it within the context of the previous chapters’ revelations, finding resonances with the work of other writer-devisers, and testing out the theories presented of both devising and writing in my own work.