_________________________________________________________________________Swansea University E-Theses The place of Wales: Staging place in contemporary Welsh drama in English. von Rothkirch und Panthen, Alexandra Victoria How to cite: _________________________________________________________________________ von Rothkirch und Panthen, Alexandra Victoria (2003) The place of Wales: Staging place in contemporary Welsh drama in English.. thesis, Swansea University. http://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42349 Use policy: _________________________________________________________________________ This item is brought to you by Swansea University. Any person downloading material is agreeing to abide by the terms of the repository licence: copies of full text items may be used or reproduced in any format or medium, without prior permission for personal research or study, educational or non-commercial purposes only. 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Please link to the metadata record in the Swansea University repository, Cronfa (link given in the citation reference above.) http://www.swansea.ac.uk/library/researchsupport/ris-support/ The Place of Wales: Staging Place in Contemporary Welsh Drama in English Alexandra Victoria von Rothkirch und Panthen Submitted to the University of Wales in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Submitted through CREW, Department of English, University of Wales Swansea 2003 ProQuest Number: 10798057 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10798057 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 libr a r y Summary This thesis discusses discursive constructions of place, which are seen to largely replace essentialist constructions of place, in contemporary Welsh drama in English (1979-2003). Place is seen as a particularly important structural element both of constructing reality in Wales and of replicating that reality in the theatre. The relatively new critical shift towards an interest in place in Western cultural criticism contributes, it is argued, to a new 'structure of feeling' (Raymond Williams) in the writing of new Welsh plays in the English language. The first chapter deals with the way in which the literary realistic paradigm, which had dominated Welsh playwriting in English from the beginning of the twentieth century, is slowly being superseded by other, often non-realistic, forms of representation. The second chapter deals with selected plays of Die Edwards. It interrogates the innovative ways this playwright constructs place and uses language to represent his highly politicised reading of Welsh reality. The third chapter focuses on selected plays written on historical themes and place. The chapter interrogates motivations to write history drama and the different forms history plays have taken in recent Welsh drama in English. The fourth chapter deals with gendered readings of place. Selected plays and two performances are discussed on the basis of a reading of Luce Irigaray's theory of 'woman as place.' The final chapter approaches place from a theoretical angle that unites the postcolonial paradigm and the new concept of sustainability. It is argued that, despite the shortcomings of the central tenets of postcolonial theory when applied to Wales, the framework of postcolonial theory offers valuable new ways of reading place in Welsh drama in English. A bibliography is attached. Declaration This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed ......................................................................................................... (candidate) D ate ...................................... Statement 1: This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except were otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by notes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed ......................................................................................................... (candidate) D ate ...................................... Statement 2: I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for interlibrary loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ......................................................................................................... (candidate) D ate ...................................... 3 Table of Contents Summary................................................................................................................. 2 Declarations and Statements ................................................................................. 3 Table of Contents ................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... 5 Dedication ............................................................................................................... 6 Introduction: The Politics of Place ......................................................................... 7 Chapter 1: 'Living behind a Veil'. Marginal Spaces and Social Exclusion 32 Chapter 2: Die Edwards and the Theatre for the Evicted' ................................... 62 Chapter 3: Past and Present ................................................................................. 97 Chapter 4: Gendered Spaces ................................................................................ 144 Chapter 5: A New Mythology for Wales? .............................................................. 192 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 245 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 250 4 Acknowledgments This thesis has had a long gestation process and numerous people have helped and encouraged me along the way. In Wales, I would like to thank M. Wynn Thomas for his unfailing support, his generosity, his clear guidance and his ability to inspire. I would further like to thank the much-missed Anna-Marie Taylor, who passed away so suddenly and so far before her time, for her expert advice, her support, her kindness and her enthusiasm. Further, I would like to acknowledge the kind help, advice and support from David Adams, Pyrs Gruffudd, Jeni Williams, Kirsti Bohata, Die Edwards, Alan Osborne, Eddie Ladd and Hazel Walford Davies. In Germany, I would like to thank Bernhard Reitz for believing in me and for giving me the chance to embark on this research in the first place. I would also like to thank Ulrike Hattemer, Heiko Stahl, Mark Berninger for their support and for being good friends and colleagues. I also would like to thank Annette Pankratz for being a good friend and for our many inspiring (virtual and real) conversations. Special thanks are due to the following writers/performers, who have supported my research by giving me manuscripts of their work: Laurence Allan, Die Edwards, Firenza Guidi, Simon Harris, Eddie Ladd and Sharon Morgan. Further thanks goes to Ruth Shade for allowing me to read unpublished work. I would like to acknowledge the University of Wales Swansea for supporting my research by means of a bursary and by funding my attendance at a conference. Finally, I would like to thank my partner Tejay de Kretser for making my life a little brighter every day. Some of the research done for this thesis is partly based on earlier, published research: • "The Last Stand of the Gwerin: Welsh National Ideology and Welsh Drama in English in the Beginning of the Twentieth Century". Latitude 63° North: Proceedings of the 8th International Region and Nation Literature Conference. Mid-Sweden University College Ostersund, Sweden, 2-6 August 2000. Ed. David Bell. Ostersund: Mid-Sweden University College, 2002.163-174. • "Devolution: A Project for a New Welsh National and Cultural Identity". (Re)Mapping the Centres: Membership and State. Ed. Trevor Harris. GRAAT Nr. 22. Publications de I'Universite Frangois-Rabelais, Tours, 2000. 205-211. • "Growing Up Between Two Cultures? The Next Generation". Reading Multiculturalism: Contemporary Postcolonial Literatures. Eds. Ana Bringas Lopez and Belen Martin Lucas. Vigo: Torculo Edicions, Nov 2000 • "A Welsh National Theatre? Welsh Drama in English before the Second World War". Crossing Borders: Intercultural Drama and Theatre at the Turn of the Millennium. Eds. Bernhard Reitz and Alyce von Rothkirch. Wvt - Wissenschaftlicher