Theater
The roots of the themes
1.greatly influenced by everyday life, war, before/after the war
-> the belle époque
visible in the theatre: conflict between the old and the new, Victorians and Edwardians
2. the great war
all the atrocities that happened during the war and how to survive when the war is over
after WWII -> modern drama
1900-1950
powerful thing – emerge of the working class
popular(mass) culture – > melodrama, all kinds of love
upper classes -> young ones, dancing, singing, everybody knew the songs
theater – during the war
‘to forget’ about the war, ppl needed sth easy and simple
Lecturer on Theatre – PART 1 & PART 2
Past versus present – Victorian epoch vs. Edwardian period (1901-1910) and the times after (WWI, interwar years, WWII and modern Britain).
The Edwardians
Belle Époque (France, 1890-1914)
Art Nouveau (architecture, applied art, 1890-1910 – prime time)
The Great War (1914-18)
The interwar years
World War II
Modern Britain
General division: 1900-1930 = the new drama. Again: 1930 becomes a demarcation(rozgraniczanie) line. A few dramatists overlap theses decades, most ‘disappear’, new ‘celebrities’ emerge.
The old types – popular tastes - changes
Melodrama (although the last official melodramatic drama was produced in 1923, Good Luck, Drury Lane). Characters in danger in order to appeal to emotions, hero, villain, themes love and murder, a tale of mystery t. Holcroft
Variety (Variete) - Continuation of the dominance of the music halls, though now more respectable, preferably called ‘variety’
entertainment most important; both the names of the theatre performers and the song or particular tunes sang by them were widely recognized, not only in London but also in all the provinces.
The revue – a type of multi-act popular entertainment that combines music, dance, sketches, roots: 19th century American popular entertainment and drama, golden years 1926-1932 (pick of popularity), most famous for visual spectacle, frequently satirized contemporary figures, news or literature; audience: those who earned more and felt less restricted by middle-class social conventions satirizing contemporary figures, news or literature, originally a collection of short sketches, songs, dances, comic interludes. Acts were linked by a topical idea or theme. "On with the dance" c.b. Cochran,
Musical comedy – the combination of spectacle, dance, comic routine, showgirls, stylish dress partly derived from burlesque; characterized by silly plots that were only a pretext for the song and dance routine (today a standard in the West End);
leaders of the genre:
Kinsmet (1911) by Edward Knoblock (with exotic orientalism)
Chu Chin Chow (1916) by Oscar Asche
War & interwar years
Revival of classics and patriotic performances appear during the war years + nautical melodramas and spot-the murderer plays were introduced;
Reasons: a war-weary ppl (mostly boys) expected some relief from the West End shows thus it comes as no surprise than an escapist theatre dominated in those dark times.
The music hall, revue stage, musical comedy – lacked in emotional depth and intellectual scope. However: met the needs of the big audience (succeeded in fulfilling the Dionysian purposes of the theatre)
Examples of idols: Marie Lloyd, Harry Lauder, Dan Leno, George Robey, Ada Reeve, Vesta Tilley, Little Tich, Marie Loftus – just to mention those most memorable of the hundreds who were household names.
Economic and technological development - late ‘20s - (the radio, the gramophone) = the decrease in the number of theatre-goers. The development of democracy = the popular taste had to be considered more seriously.
Some leading dramatists of the early 20th century
Bernard G. Shaw – something old, something new
Harley Granville Barker – journalist, actor, playwright and director; principal contribution to modern drama and theatre: innovative directing (1900-13 combined directing with acting);
John Galsworthy - upper class, lower class; mostly known for his The Forsyte Saga (1906 – first volume appears). Primary a novelist, yet a handful of plays that should be remembered. Example of a play: Silver Box (1906)
J.M. Barrie – the child in us (Peter Pan and Never Land).
W. Somerset Maugham – new comedy of manner.
Among ‘ordinary’ plays there were also highly experimental, for example those produced by the members of Futurism.
post-war theatre – political and social influences (Commonwealth; diversity; the middle and working classes; fears)
| the Empire transforms into Commonwealth | direct influence on the life and mentality of the ordinary inhabitants |
|---|---|
| the loss of the Empire = the loss of power | the working and lower middle classes gaining power/becoming more important |
| loss of imperial thinking | |
post-war landscape = constant juxtaposition eg. the ruins vs. newly built homes |
diversity in the theatre: tradition vs experiment/old vs young |
main representatives:
Christopher Fry (e.g. “A Sleep of Prisoners”, 1951; “The Lady’s not for Burning”, 1949). John Arden (e.g. “Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance”, 1959) – both rooted in traditional theatre.
Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard – the absurd, ambiguous, mysterious in the theatre.
G.B. Shaw, Shelagh Delaney, John Osborne – the social context
*the presence of the absurd – an extreme reaction to Realism in the theatre – dealing with man’s existential relationship to the universe and nature
*intimidation, puzzlement, mystery
*lack of communication between the characters
*The discussion related to the social and moral conventions, generation gap
*the surreal, a sense of irritationality
*themes arising from cultural and intellectual pursuits prior to writing
Conclusion
British plays of the ‘50s and ‘60s
-reflects the post-war reality, they mirror the general lack of unity in the English life of the period
-do not tackle big political problems=lack political setting
-instead, the lives of the ordinary inhabitants presented (main focus: working class)
Thus: the setting is primarily social
the types of modern theatre
theatre of absurd (Samuel Beckett) ‘ krapp’s last tape’, irrational and illogical speech , human being trapped in an uncomprehensible world
theatre of unknowing (Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard) pinter- ,comedies of menace’, ‘the hothouse’ Stoppard, ‘the real inspector’ hound
four-wall theatre (Tom Stoppard, John Osborne) osbourne- look back in anger, wall in front of the stage, dramatic comedic effect, boundary is broken.
kitchen-sink drama (Shelagh Delaney) heroes could be described as angry young men, social realism, domestic situation of the working class ‘ a taste of honey’ by delaney
theatre of surreal (Tom Stoppard) after Magritte
drawing room drama (G.B. Shaw) actions take place in a drawing room or which is designed to be reanacted in the drawing room of a home. Heartbreak house