DIVINE RECKONINGS IN PROFANE SPACES: TOWARDS A THEOLOGICAL DRAMATURGY FOR THEATRE Ivan P. Morillo Khovacs A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2007 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/329 This item is protected by original copyright UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS ST MARY’S COLLEGE INSTITUTE FOR THEOLOGY, IMAGINATION & THE ARTS 0 ❧ D IVIN E R EC K O N IN GS IN PR O FAN E S PA C ES : TOWARDS A THEOLOGICAL DRAMATURGY FOR THEATRE A THESIS SUBMITTED BY IVAN P. MORILLO KHOVACS TO THE FACULTY OF DIVINITY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND ADVENT 2006 iii Declarations (i) I, Ivan Khovacs, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 100,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me, and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. (ii) I was admitted as a research student in September 2000 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in Theology in May 2001; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2000 and 2006. (iii)I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. (iv)In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews, I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work now being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker. © Ivan P Khovacs 2006 iv Abstract If from God’s perspective ‘all the world’s a stage’, theology invites one to think and act according to the view afforded from this height. To speak theologically of a ‘world stage’ as many contemporary theologians have done has required rethinking the Church’s long- established antagonism towards the stage. Of late, theology has opened up academic exchange with the drama’s understanding of ‘the great theatre of the world’. Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theo-drama in particular has given Christians a means for entering into discussion with dramatic forms. Contemporary theological engagements with ‘drama’, however, have been limited to its most literary/metaphorical aspects; less attention has been paid to the potentialities in theology’s exchange with the performance aesthetics of live theatre. Pressed to its logical ends, however, von Balthasar’s idea of a ‘theological dramatics’ and its advances made in contemporary theology, suggest the need for sustained engagement with other modes of dramaturgy, including performance theory and the stage. This thesis attempts to instantiate this theological engagement through an aesthetic understanding of contemporary secular theatrical performance. v Dedication To those who have inspired me in the pursuit of theology and the theatre, among whom are Prof. Simon Williams, University of California, Santa Barbara Dr. Loren Wilkinson, Regent College, Vancouver BC Rev. Prof. Trevor Hart, University of St Andrews, Scotland Et aux frères de l’ordre de St Jean-Baptiste de la Salle qui m’apprirent le verbe de Dieu et enchantèrent ma jeune âme de son drame incarné. Theatrum facti sumus mundo et angelis et hominibus. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The investment represented in this work is personal as well as reflective of a community of colleagues, friends and family who all have added to its value. Professor Simon Williams, now chair of the Drama department at the University of California, Santa Barbara, engendered in me respect for the theatre, taught me to pay attention to the spaces between the words, and encouraged me, like his hero Peer Gynt, to be enough, and to follow my own vision in the arts. Dr. Loren Wilkinson, Regent College, Vancouver—at a time when I had all but lost vision for engaging the arts theologically—was instrumental in helping me to integrate my love for the theatre, a passion for God, and academic pursuit. To him I owe the initial idea to take up this struggle in the form of a doctoral thesis. Professor Trevor Hart merits special mention for having stood by this effort when I have lacked the means to sustain it, intellectually or otherwise; his faith-thinking in community has inspired me to work in hope, and for that I remain thankful. Prof. Jeremy Begbie played a vital role in my trek to Scotland to bring this thesis into concrete form. His lectures at Regent College in 1998 provided a viable focus for an emerging desire to integrate my formal work in the theatre and theological study. His method and clarity have been instructive; his passion, edifying. The St Andrews American Scholarship Foundation financed a significant portion of my time spent on this project. Their investment made it possible for me to believe that, in the end, this thesis would be worth the effort; it also gave my wife confidence that God had gone ahead of us in preparing the way for our years in St Andrews. The Gladstone Foundation and St Deiniol’s Library were generous in providing me with time and space to research and write significant sections of this thesis. My sincere thanks to Peter Francis, Helen Francis, Lucy Lockett and their administrative staff for sharing the gift of Christian hospitality and dedication to scholarly pursuit. The community of St Andrews Scottish Episcopal Church embraced us practically from the moment we arrived; my thanks to its faithful members, particularly the Rev. Dr. Robert Gillies, and the Friday morning Eucharist service. I am delighted to acknowledge equally my ‘praying for their PhD’s community’, namely Julie Canlis, Poul F. Guttesen, and Gisela H. Kreglinger. It has been a privilege to participate in each other’s apprenticeship to theological scholarship. In this regard, our ad hoc single malt whisky tasting groups have brought great joy to our theological endeavours; they are herein acknowledged and duly thanked. Slainte! Finally, it remains for me to acknowledge the fact that this work has been made possible through the faithful, hope-filled and loving support of my wife, Julie. DIVINE RE CK ONING S IN PROF ANE SP ACES : TOWARDS A THEOLOGICAL DRAMATURGY FOR THEATRE TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I. TOWARDS A THEOLOGICAL DRAMATURGY xi 2. FOR THEATRE xii 2. ‘THEO-DRAMA’ AND THE SECULAR THEATRE xv 4. DRAMATIC PERSPECTIVE (RE-)DEFINED xvii 5. PRESENTATION OF THE THESIS xx 1 HANS URS VON BALTHASAR’S THEO-DRAMA: TOWARDS A THEOLOGICAL DRAMATURGY FOR THE THEATRE I. THEO-DRAMA: A SMALL STONE IN THE GRAND MOSAIC OF REVELATION 1 1. THE DRAMA OF THEOLOGY: EPIC, LYRIC AND DRAMATIC 1 1.I.1a Epic stance 2 1.I.1b Lyric mode 3 1.I.1c Dramatic event 5 1.I.1d Pressing towards a theo-dramatic horizon 6 1.I.1e Christian particularity 7 1.I.1f Dramatic theology 8 1.I.1g Theatre ‘from above’ 10 1.I.1h The theatre of the world 12 2. THEOLOGICAL DRAMATICS: DIVINE ANALOGIES FROM PROFANE SPACES 14 1.I.2a The primordial view 15 1.I.2b Initial objections 16 3. THEATRE SPECTACLE AND THE CHRISTIAN ERA 18 1.I.3a Theatrical scandal 19 1.I.3b Christian ambiguity 21 4. THE WORLD THEATRE METAPHOR 24 1.I.4a ‘No theatre/ No world’ 26 1.I.4b Dramatic option 29 1.I.4c At play within the play 31 II. THEOLOGY’S ENGAGEMENT WITH THE STAGE 34 1. TOWARDS A PERFORMATIVE THEOLOGICAL DRAMATICS 34 1.II.1a Live theatre 34 1.II.1b Performative/actantial theatre 36 2. THEOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE INTERPRETATION 37 1.II.2a The word in action 38 1.II.2b Speech act 41 3. THE THEO-DRAMATIC REHEARSAL 44 1.II.3a Command performance 45 1.II.3b Theological rehearsal 47 1.II.3c Towards a theological theatre 49 viii 2 CHRISTIANITY AND THE SECULAR STAGE: TERTULLIAN’S OPPOSITION TO THE THEATRE IN THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE I. DE SPECTACULIS: TERTULLIAN’S INVECTIVE AGAINST THEATRE 55 1. THEATRE AS THEOLOGICAL REALIA 55 2.I.1a Blood and sand 57 2.I.1b Theological realia 58 2.I.1c De Spectaculis 60 2.I.1d Conscientious objection 64 2.I.1e In picturings of imagination 68 2.I.1f Images of creation 71 2.I.1g Tertullian’s theological drama 72 3 THE DRAMATIC CHARACTER OF ST AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS IN THE LIGHT OF ARISTOTELIAN DRAMATIC THEORY I. THE THEOLOGICAL INVECTIVE AGAINST THE STAGE 76 1. IRRATIONALITY, FRAUDULENT AFFECT 76 3.I.1a Dramatic representation, ritual and the games 79 3.I.1b Theatrical affectation against reason 82 3.I.1c ‘You can take my body but not my mind’ 83 II. AUGUSTINE’S THEOLOGICAL-DRAMATIC NARRATIVE 86 1. SALVATION, THE GREAT THEATRE OF THE WORLD 86 3.II.1a A narrative about the God who acts 89 3.II.1b In which God watches Alypius fall for the gladiatorial shows 91 3.II.1c Augustinian narrative and Aristotle’s dramatic aesthetics 92 3.II.1d Augustine’s theologically vivified drama 95 3.II.1e Consonance with Aristotelian tragedy 98 2.