Ghent University Faculty of Arts and Philosophy CONTEMPORARY ADAPTATIONS OF SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA: THE LANGUAGE USE IN AND RECEPTION OF TEN OORLOG BY TOM LANOYE AND LUK PERCEVAL Supervisor: Paper submitted in partial fulfilment of prof. dr. Sandro Jung the requirements for the degree of “Master in de Taal- en Letterkunde: Engels - Italiaans” by Inneke Plasschaert 2010 - 2011 Table of Contents 1. Acknowledgements 5 2. Introduction 6 3. A short history of BMCie and Ten Oorlog 7 3.1. The birth of BMCie 7 3.2. Perceval's master project: Ten Oorlog 11 4. Journalism and the reception of Ten Oorlog 14 4.1. Introduction 14 4.2. Journalism and Ten Oorlog 14 4.3. The academic response to Ten Oorlog 20 4.4. Ten Oorlog abroad: journalism and Schlachten! 23 4.5. Conclusion 24 5. The linguistic evolution in Ten Oorlog 26 5.1. An introduction to Ten Oorlog 26 5.2. Richaar Deuzième 29 5.2.1. Introduction: Shakespeare's Richard II 29 5.2.2. Internal language conflicts: Richaar 30 5.2.3. External language conflicts: Richaar, Bolingbroke, Jan van Gent, Northumberland, York 36 5.2.4. Conclusion 40 5.3. Hendrik Vier 42 5.3.1. Introduction: Shakespeare's Henry IV (part I & II) 42 5.3.2. Internal language conflicts: Hendrik Vier, La Falstaff 43 2 5.3.3. External language conflicts: Hendrik Vier, Roste, Westmoreland, La Falstaff, Henk 44 5.3.4. Conclusion 49 5.4. Hendrik de Vijfden 51 5.4.1. Introduction: Shakespeare's Henry V 51 5.4.2. Internal language conflicts: La Falstaff, Hendrik de Vijfden 51 5.4.3. External language conflicts: Hendrik de Vijfden, his army, the French court 54 5.4.4. Conclusion 58 5.5. Margaretha di Napoli 59 5.5.1. Introduction: Shakespeare's Henry VI (part I & II) 59 5.5.2. Internal language conflicts: Hendrik VI, Margaretha 61 5.5.3. External language conflicts: Hendrik VI, Leonora, York 65 5.5.4. Conclusion 68 5.6. Edwaar the King 69 5.6.1. Introduction: Shakespeare's Henry VI (part III) 69 5.6.2. Internal language conflicts: Edwaar the King, Hendrik VI 70 5.6.3. External language conflicts: Warwick, Buckingham, Sjors 72 5.6.4. Conclusion 75 5.7. Risjaar Modderfokker den Derde 77 5.7.1. Introduction: Shakespeare's Richard III 77 5.7.2. Internal language conflicts: Risjaar 78 5.7.3. External language conflicts: the women, the ghosts, Buckingham, Richmond 81 3 5.7.4. Conclusion 87 6. Conclusion 88 7. Bibliography 91 8. Appendix 97 8.1. Comparison of the dramatis personae of the original plays and Ten Oorlog 97 8.1.1. Richaar Deuzième 97 8.1.2. Hendrik Vier 99 8.1.3. Hendrik de Vijfden 102 8.1.4. Margaretha di Napoli 104 8.1.5. Edwaar the King 109 8.1.6. Risjaar Modderfokker den Derde 111 8.2. Family tree of the characters in Ten Oorlog 113 8.3. List of actors who performed in Ten Oorlog 114 8.4. List of performances of Ten Oorlog 118 8.5. Photographs from the performances of Ten Oorlog 121 4 1. Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my dissertation supervisor, professor Sandro Jung, for giving me the opportunity and the benefit of the doubt to write my thesis about a subject I personally am interested in. My parents, for giving me the opportunity to study what I am interested in, which is not as obvious for everyone, and for supporting me for the past four years. Luk Perceval, adapter/director of Ten Oorlog, for sharing his thoughts concerning the media phenomenon that surrounded Ten Oorlog in a telephone conversation, thus providing me with a different outlook on the situation. Annick Verstraeten, from Toneelhuis Antwerpen, for giving me the opportunity to look into the archives of the BMCie, for providing me with articles and videos, and for her incredible enthusiasm and love of theater. Matthias Peulders, one of the scarce mathematicians who enjoy theater, for sharing my enthusiasm about Ten Oorlog and for supporting me in every way he could. My fellow students for making the past four years unforgettable. Thank you. 5 2. Introduction Shakespeare's plays have remained popular ever since their production. Through the ages, theater groups have continued to adapt and perform Shakespeare. In Belgium, the adaptations by Jan Decorte, Jan Lauwers & Needcompany and Peter Verhelst are quite well known because of their unique ways of approaching the Shakespearean theater. These Shakespearean adaptations have been appearing since the late seventies, and continue to do so. In 1997, however, another unique Shakespearean adaptation was staged: Ten Oorlog. It had been adapted and staged by a writer and director who had not adapted Shakespeare's plays before. Ten Oorlog was different from the other adaptations in many ways, but the most outstanding difference was probably the fact that it was a marathon production. With Ten Oorlog, Tom Lanoye and Luk Perceval did not adapt just one of Shakespeare's plays, but eight of them, which resulted in ten hours of theater. Such a performance was unseen in Belgian theaters up to 1997. Ten Oorlog was treated as an unparalleled event by the press as well. An astounding number of articles and reports has been published concerning Ten Oorlog between 1995 and 2000. All of them emphasized the extraordinary character of the production in similar ways. In the first part of this thesis, I will discuss the journalistic response to Ten Oorlog and how it contributed to the hype surrounding the play. In the second part of this thesis, I will discuss one of Ten Oorlog's most distinctive characteristics, namely the language use. The six plays of Ten Oorlog are characterized by a linguistic development which underlines the evolution of the plot line, thus stressing again how exceptional Ten Oorlog is when compared to other Belgian theater productions. 6 3. A short history of Blauwe Maandag Compagnie and Ten Oorlog 3.1 The birth of Blauwe Maandag Compagnie Luk Perceval, the driving force behind the Blauwe Maandag Compagnie, started his theater career in 1980 after graduating from the Conservatory of Antwerp, where he was inspired by Dora Van der Groen. For four years, he worked as an actor at the Koninklijke Nederlandse Schouwburg (KNS) in Antwerp but was unhappy with the KNS and its approach to theater. According to Perceval, actors were treated as puppets and could not rehearse creatively: “After five years at the KNS I was mentally and physically ill. I could hardly get up in the morning because the idea of having to rehearse another day without the least form of creativity paralyzed me. As a puppet I could 'serve' in historical reconstructions, surrounded by quenched and cynical colleagues.”1 Unable to continue working in such conditions, Perceval decided to leave the KNS after a number of discussions and established the Blauwe Maandag Compagnie2 together with Guy Joosten, whom he met during his years as an assistant at the Conservatory of Antwerp. BMCie meant the end of Perceval's career as an actor and the beginning of his career as a director. On the 14th of June, 1984, BMCie premiered with De geschiedenis van Don Quichot door Cide Hamete Benengeli, waarin verhaald wordt hetgeen men erin zal ervaren3, although Perceval and some actors had not yet officially resigned from the 1 Luk Perceval. Accidenten. 1993, p 1. As quoted in: Joost Houtman. Allen treft eenzelfde lot. Ten Oorlog, een verhaal over Macht en Mens. (Leuven: Van Halewyck, 1999) 19-20. My translation. 2 Literally translated in English: Blue Monday Company. The name was inspired by a remark of the older actors at the KNS. They said Perceval and his fellow young actors were “only a blue Monday in theater”, meaning they would only last for a very short time. 3 Translation: The history of Don Quichot by Cide Hamete Benengeli, which will narrate what one will experience in it. Adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quijote by Perceval. Première: 14th of June, 1984. 7 KNS. Of course all the discussions and internal problems of the KNS failed to remain internal and caused a general curiosity and commotion concerning the newly established company, which was skilfully used by BMCie to sell their plays. From their very first staging onwards, BMCie managed to use the media to their advantage. With press conferences, strong reactions against contemporary theater, open rehearsals and other events, they managed to keep the press, and thus the audience, interested. With Don Quichot, BMCie established its name from the start. Although artistically the future looked positive, the financial situation was not as promising. It was only in 1987-1988 that BMCie first received a grant from the Flemish government. The new influx of finances gave Perceval the possibility to invest in staffing, including Gommer Van Rousselt and Stefaan De Ruyck. Meanwhile, Perceval managed to have the BMCie performing abroad in the Netherlands, thus initiating their international career. In 1988, BMCie started working on De Meeuw4. It was crucial that this performance would be a success, because the financing of this production did not leave any money for a second chance. Aware of the stakes and able to manipulate the press, Perceval organized open rehearsals for journalists. All articles published after these rehearsals praised the performance, thus turning De Meeuw into a media phenomenon. De Meeuw had one important negative consequence too: because of this enormous success, BMCie gradually became considered a mainstream theater group. This meant that the smaller alternative theater houses no longer could or wanted to host them, while performing at the big theater houses was just as impossible.