Adaptation in Contemporary Theatre: Performing Literature

Description

Why are so many theatre productions adaptations of one kind or another? Why do contemporary practitioners turn so frequently to non-dramatic texts for inspiration? This study explores the fascination of novels, short stories, children’s books and autobiographies for theatre makers and examines what ‘becomes’ of literary texts when these are filtered into contemporary practice that includes physical theatre, multimedia performance, puppetry, immersive and site-specific performance and live art. In Adaptation in Contemporary Theatre, Frances Babbage offers a series of fresh critical perspectives on the theory of adaptation in theatre-making, focusing on meditations of prose literature within contemporary performance. Individual chapters explore the significance and impact of books as physical objects within productions; the relationship between the dramatic adaptation and literary edition; storytelling on the page and in performance; literary space and theatrical space; and prose fiction reframed as 'found text' in contemporary theatre and live art. Case studies are drawn from internationally acclaimed companies including Complicite, Elevator Repair Service, Kneehigh, Forced Entertainment, Gob Squad, Teatro Kismet and Stan’s Cafe. Adaptation in Contemporary Theatre is a compelling and provocative resource for anyone interested in the potential and the challenges of using prose literature as material for new theatrical performance. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Adaptation and the Theatre Adaptation studies: A critical context Adaptation studies: A theatrical context 2. Performing Books The matter of books Scenes of reading Adaptation as edition Burton/Stan’s Cafe: The Anatomy of Melancholy 3. Story: Adaptation and the Act of Telling Storytelling as adaptation: Adaptation as storytelling Andersen/Kneehigh: The Red Shoes Pullman/Ludovico: I Was a Rat! 4. Layered Space: Adaptation, Immersion and Site Possible impossible scenes – Bulgakov/Complicite: The Master and Margarita Inside the ‘play space’ Poe/Punchdrunk: The Masque of the Red Death Kafka/Retz: The Trial 5. Resisting Adaptation Wallace/Hebbel am Ufer: Infinite Jest – 24 Hours through the Utopian West Diderot/Hof van Eede: Where the World is Going, That’s Where We are Going Proust/Jaeger: A Field Guide to Lost Things Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index