Shakespeare and the Thirties: Representations of the Past in Contemporary Performance
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SHAKESPEARE AND THE THIRTIES: REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PAST IN CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE by JAMI ROGERS A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY The Shakespeare Institute School of English, Drama and American and Canadian Studies The University of Birmingham May 2011 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties.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 the performance history of Shakespeare focusing on those productions performed as a period analogue of the nineteen-thirties. It engages with the material in two ways. It first attempts to locate influences that have led to the development of this style of performance, finding correlations with both theatrical production and televisual drama. It then examines the productions as performed, focusing on the construction of scenography and actor performances. Throughout the analysis, this thesis engages with shifts in the representation of the historical past on both stage and screen. For my grandfather, who told me about West Virginia in the thirties when I was very small Herbert C. Rogers 1916-2003 "Take Me Home, Country Roads" ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis is the product of more years of experience than I probably care to admit. My family and friends have supported me through the long and winding road that led here. No more so than my parents, Jim and Roxanne, who never discouraged me, and who have been completely supportive throughout and the rest of my family: my siblings Becky, Laura, and Sean; my nephew Jason; my niece Isis; and my aunts Martha and Linda. Without my supervisors Catherine Alexander and Kate McLuskie this thesis would have, like Troilus and Cressida, began and ended in the middle. My thoughts would have remained like unbridled children, grown too headstrong for their mistress. Many people generously gave their time to provide me with their first-hand perspectives on theatre over many years: Alex Avery, Maureen Beattie, Hildegard Bechtler, Michael Billington, Derbhle Crotty, Richard Eyre, Peter Flannery, John Hopkins, Paul Jesson, Rebecca Johnson, Tim Luscombe, Alistair Petrie, Claire Price, Amanda Root, Lex Shrapnel, Geoffrey Streatfeild, David Thacker, Harriet Walter, and Angus Wright. Deserving of more than mere thanks, Matt Costain and Katy Stephens have given their time to discuss their work on the record, but their friendship was a beacon of light during that darkest winter. John Fuller, to whom I am enormously indebted to for first hiring me at PBS, was invaluable in helping parse demographic material with a refresher course on ratings. My former colleagues at Masterpiece Theatre – particularly Rebecca Eaton, Steven Ashley, Deb Gibbs, and Olivia Wong – have cheerfully indulged my every whim, from flying to Stratford to do the MA at the SI part time to providing me with television programmes and facts. Michael Dobson, Peter J. Smith, and Roberta Barker all read drafts of various chapters and their insightful comments and encouragement have been invaluable. Quantifying the value of Stratfordians is well nigh impossible. The debates long into the night about performance are, undoubtedly, the unsung heroes of this thesis. Their company and good humour has been much, much more than a pleasure, and the combination of football and Shakespeare with them absolutely brilliant. In particular, Paul Prescott, Dong-Ha Seo, John Jowett, Beccy Roberts, Adam Sherratt, Kath Bradley, Jim Stredder, Will Sharpe and Erin Sullivan have been a joy on and off the pitch. I am also deeply indebted to David Hill, Mike Bradley, Margaret Roper, and Sarah Olive for hours of erudite discussion, good humour, debate and friendship. I also could not have finished this thesis without the sage advice and sheer pigheadedness of Jeff Steele, the determination of Rob Conkie, and the delightful company of Lydia Wanstall and Mary Stewart Burgher. Special thanks must go to Lloyd Hutchinson and Barnaby Kay for putting up with my strangely obsessive theatregoing habits for more than twenty years and for their complete faith in everything I've accomplished. Sylvia Morris, Mairi MacDonald, Madeline Cox, Jo Wilding, Helen Hargest, Helen Rees at the Shakespeare Centre Library and Archive and Gavin Clarke at the Royal National Theatre archive have provided invaluable friendship, good humour, and assistance while tackling this project. Leah Weisse at WGBH was, as always, extremely helpful above and beyond the call of duty. David Howells at the RSC Collections generously allowed access to the RSC's costume archive. Roger Howells, too, is amazingly generous with his time and such an invaluable wealth of information on the RSC's history that he should write his own book instead of appearing in a cameo role here! Mary Butlin helpfully shared with me RSC demographic information. And where would I be without the Shakespeare Institute Library and its staff, past and present: Jim Shaw, Kate Welch, and Karin Brown. My colleagues at the SI Library have supported, cajoled and humoured me throughout and I owe Lorna Burslem, Bettina Harris, Ann Catchpole, Jill Francis, and John Settle a great debt. The friendships I made while living in London before, during and after drama school have grown over the years and are much treasured. To the Howards (Andrew, Janice, Ben and Bella), who are like a second family to me, the debt is unpayable. Their infinite hospitality has graced me with both their wonderful company and the ability to see a ridiculous number of plays in London year after year. If I had not met Imogen Cooper, Jen Callow and Chris Wright, in and around theatres in Stratford and eventually during many ushering shifts at the Almeida Theatre, neither the Masters nor this thesis would have been possible. Peter and Pauline Bindloss have, through the years, given me endless pleasure and became an extra set of grandparents at the same time. Geraldine Caulfield gave me a second home in Stratford for nearly fifteen years, until I had one of my own. To this list must be added the newer friendship of Jan Pick, who has always been available for a chat, dinner or the theatre and who has suffered through early drafts of this tome. Julia Ihnatowicz, too, has listened patiently as the ideas developed and discussed endless points about Shakespeare and the theatre with me. The performances I have seen that have shaped me and the people I have known through twenty years of British theatre-going cannot be covered here. However, two friends from LAMDA have amazingly reappeared in my life while I have been engaged in this enterprise and the impact of that has been immeasurable. Nick Bailey and Lucy Appleton—this one's for you! TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES CHAPTER ONE: THEATRICAL INFLUENCES 40 I. "Modern Dress" Shakespeare 40 II. Michael MacOwan's Troilus and Cressida 51 III. Tyrone Guthrie and the Beginnings of the Period Setting 61 CHAPTER TWO: TELEVISUAL INFLUENCES 74 I. "Modern Dress", The Forsyte Saga and Shakespeare 74 II. The "Edwardian Craze" 84 III. From Screen to Stage 91 CHAPTER THREE: THE THIRTIES PERIOD SETTING 103 I. The Historical Moment 103 II. The Thirties on Stage and Television 109 III. Shifting Perceptions of the Thirties 118 IV. Richard III and National Identity 126 V. After Richard III 134 PART TWO: THE THIRTIES PERIOD SETTING IN PERFORMANCE CHAPTER FOUR: PERFORMANCE TRENDS 139 I. Historical Drama to Costume Drama 139 II. The Bare Stage 165 CHAPTER FIVE: CREATING THE SCENOGRAPHIC THIRTIES 170 I. The Thirties "Look" 170 II. Pictorial Evidence 176 III. Naturalistic Thirties Worlds and the Bare Stage 186 CHAPTER SIX: PERFORMING THE ANALOGUE 202 I. Performing the Analogue 202 II. Naturalistic Scenography and Performance 209 III. Period Setting and the Bare Stage 220 IV. The Spanish Civil War and Sicily 225 CHAPTER SEVEN: CASE STUDY: THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA 244 I. Two Two Gentlemen 244 II. Framing the Action, or Music and Romance 254 III. Two Designs 259 IV. The Prop and the Text 269 V. Conclusion 290 CONCLUSION 292 APPENDIX 298 BIBLIOGRAPHY 301 ABBREVIATIONS All's Well All's Well That Ends Well BBC British Broadcasting Corporation Bertie Bertie and Elizabeth BFI British Film Institute Birmingham Rep Birmingham Repertory Theatre Brideshead Brideshead Revisited Caesar Julius Caesar Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream Edward Edward and Mrs Simpson ESC English Shakespeare Company Forsyte The Forsyte Saga IOS Independent on Sunday Jewel The Jewel in the Crown LIACC Love in a Cold Climate Masterpiece Masterpiece Theatre Measure Measure for Measure Merchant The Merchant of Venice Much Ado Much Ado About Nothing NT Royal National Theatre NUM National Union of Mineworkers Old Vic Old Vic Theatre PBS Public Broadcasting Service Rose The Rose Between Two Thorns RP Received Pronunciation RSC Royal Shakespeare Company Swan Swan Theatre Troilus Troilus and Cressida TSTAMD To Serve Them All My Days Two Gentlemen The Two Gentlemen of Verona INTRODUCTION I. PERIOD ANALOGUE "the period a Shakespeare production is set in is the first question you ask" ~Nicholas Hytner1 I begin with Hytner's statement in part because the director is an example of what W. B. Worthen refers to as "Shakespeare's auteurs", part of a profession that had come into "being at the moment that 'drama' gains an independent existence as literature".2 The critic views this development as one consequence of the emergence of the naturalistic stage movement from its equivalent in literature.