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August 2010 RE-STAGING HISTORY: Historiographic Drama from New Zealand and Australia David O'Donnell A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand 1999 CONTENTS Chapter 1 : Introduction: Towards a Drama of Post-Colonial History. 1 Chapter 2: Hi-jacking the Canon : A Study of Four Intertextual Performances. 31 Chapter 3: Interface : The Historical Event in Theatre and Film. 86 Chapter 4: The Play of History. 150 Chapter 5: Conclusion: Correcting the Past and Celebrating the Inauthentic. 182 Bibliography and Filmography i90 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I would like to thank the following people whose assistance has been invaluable in writing this thesis: My colleagues in the Theatre Studies Section at the University of Otago: Hilary Halba, Richard Huber, Simon O'Connor and especially Lisa Warrington for her inspiration and continuing support of this work. My former lecturers at Victoria University: Phillip Mann, David Carnegie and John Downie, all of whom at some stage have assisted me with aspects of my research. The staff of the English Department, University of Otago, especially Colin Gibson, Jocelyn Harris and Thierry Jutel. Awatea Edwin, Rangimoana Taylor and Hone Kouka for their generosity in sharing aspects of Maori kawa and tikanga in relation to theatre. Anna Marbrook, Phillippa Campbell and Heather Lee for talking to me about Manawa Taua: Savage Hearts. My family, Kerrin and Jack, for their continual support throughout the development of this thesis. I would especially like to thank my supervisor Chris Prentice for stimulating my interest in historiographic and post-colonial drama; and for her patience, constant encouragement and understanding throughout the entire process of researching and writing this thesis. ABSTRACT Since the 1980s, there has been an increasing emphasis on drama, in live theatre and on film, which re-addresses the ways in which the post-colonial histories of Australia and New Zealand have been written. Why is there such a focus on 'historical' drama in these countries at the end of the twentieth century and what does this drama contribute to wider debates about post-colonial history? This thesis aims both to explore the connections between drama and history, and to analyse the interface between live and recorded drama. In order to discuss these issues, I have used the work of theatre and film critics and historians, supplemented by reference to writers working in the field of post­ colonial and performance theory. In particular, I have utilised the methods of Helen Gilbert and Joanne Tompkins in Post-Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics, beginning with their claim that in the post-colonial situation history has been seen to determine reality itself. I have also drawn on theorists such as Michel Foucault, Linda Hutcheon and Guy Debord who question the 'truth' value of official history-writing and emphasize the role of representation in determining popular perceptions of the past. This discussion is developed through reference to contemporary performance theory, particularly the work of Richard Schechner and Marvin Carlson, in order to suggest that there is no clear separation between performance and reality, and that access to history is only possible through re-enactments of it, whether in written or performative forms. Chapter One is a survey of the development of 'historical' drama in theatre and film from New Zealand and Australia. This includes discussion of the diverse cultural and performative traditions which influence this drama, and establishment of the critical methodologies to be used in the thesis. Chapter Two examines four plays which are intercultural re-writings of canonical texts from the European dramatic tradition. In this chapter I analyse the formal and thematic strategies in each of these plays in relation to the source texts, and ask to what extent they function as canonical counter-discourse by offering a critique of the assumptions of the earlier play from a post-colonial perspective. The potential of dramatic representation in forming perceptions of reality has made it an attractive forum for Maori and Aboriginal artists, who are creating theatre which has both a political and a pedagogical function. This discussion demonstrates that much of the impetus towards historiographic drama in both countries has come from Maori and Aboriginal writers and directors working in collaboration with white practitioners. Such collaborations not only advance the project of historiographic drama, but also may form the basis of future theatre practice which departs from the Western tradition and is unique to each of New Zealand and Australia. In Chapter Three I explore the interface between live and recorded performance by comparing plays and films which dramatise similar historical material. I consider the relative effectiveness of theatre and film as media for historiographic critique. I suggest that although film often has a greater cultural impact than theatre, to date live theatre has been a more accessible form of expression for Maori and Aboriginal writers and directors. Furthermore, following theorists such as Brecht and Brook, I argue that such aspects as the presence of the live performer and the design of the physical space shared by actors and audience give theatre considerable potential for creating an immediate engagement with historiographic themes. In Chapter Four, I discuss two contrasting examples of recorded drama in order to highlight the potential of film and television as media for historiographic critique. I question the divisions between the documentary and dramatic genres, and use Derrida's notion of play to suggest that there is a constant slippage between the dramatic and the real, between the past and the present. In Chapter Five, I summarize the arguments advanced in previous chapters, using the example of the national museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, to illustrate that the 'performance' of history has become part of popular culture. Like the interactive displays at Te Papa, the texts studied in this thesis demonstrate that dramatic representation has the potential to re-define perceptions of historical 'reality'. With its superior capacity for creating illusion, film is a dynamic medium for exploring the imaginative processes of history-making, while the fundamental power of the theatre in representing history is that in the live performance the spectator symbolically comes into the presence of the past. CHAPTER ONE: TOWARDS A DRAMA OF POST-COLONIAL HISTORY. Poetry is something more philosophical and worthy of serious attention than history; for while poetry is concerned with universal truths, history treats of particular facts. - Aristotle, On the Art of Poetry (43-4) Attention to the construction of history is vital to the post-colonial agenda since history has been seen to determine reality itself. - Helen Gilbert and Joanne Tompkins, Post-Colonial Drama (108) As an actor and director, I have always been fascinated by the boundaries between performance and 'real' life, their points of intersection, and the impact that the performative world has on social perceptions of reality. Many playwrights and directors in the Western theatre tradition have based a lifetime's work on attempting to create a theatre which can change social attitudes, and Brecht's work in particular continues to be a strong influence on socially conscious theatre-makers, especially those working in a post-colonial or feminist context. Erving Goffman and Victor Turner have created a body of research about the theatrical elements in everyday social interaction, and such work has formed the basis of contemporary performance theory, which has become profoundly interdisciplinary and intercultural. As a Pakeha New Zealander, I have also become increasingly interested in the differing versions of our post­ colonial history and how these affect the culture of the present. This research was created out of a desire to examine recent performative responses to post­ colonial history, to ask how these texts reflect current debates about the past and to come to some conclusions about the functions of historiographic drama in re­ defining perceptions of post-colonial realities. Why are so many New Zealand plays and films set in the past? What do these texts tell an audience about its history and how do they relate to perceptions of cultural identity? Is history itself a performance, in which remembered actions compete for the attention of an interested spectator, influenced by a complex interplay between past and present fictions and realities? In this introduction I outline some of the critical approaches which influence this thesis, taken primarily from theories of performance and post-colonial drama. I 2 also examine the concept of the 'history play' in the European tradition and compare it with Aboriginal and Maori approaches to history and performance. I briefly outline some of the ways in which history has been dramatized in New Zealand and Australia, both in live theatre and on film, and analyze some of the critical responses to this work. This is not intended as a complete survey of 'historical' drama in these countries, but rather as background to the texts which will be examined in depth in the chapters which follow. Finally, I outline the content of each chapter, indicating why the texts were chosen and how they influence this discussion.