Essay: 7,500 words Submission: one month after the end of the module
100%
Supplementary Assessment
Essay: Submission of the essay to a new title
100%
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Demonstrate a clear understanding of the theory of intercultural theatre practice
Critically apply the specific terminology to theatre productions
Apply the concepts and theory to intercultural theatre practice
Aims
The aim of the module is:
To introduce students to the concepts and theory of intercultural theatre practice
Content
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Western theatre artists have been more and more influenced by non-Western concepts relating to philosophy or psychology in general and theatre aesthetics in particular. This development has led to intentional and conscious attempts at intercultural theatre, which can be broadly grouped into three categories: productions in which material from other cultures dominates, being regarded as models or ideals (e.g. productions "in the style of" Peking Opera or Noh theatre). Productions in which the original culture dominates, and foreign elements are used to enlarge the range of expression in the theatre (e.g. Mnouchkine's Shakespeare productions). The third group of intercultural theatre aims at a universal language of the theatre (e.g. Peter Brook, The Mahabharata). Theatre practice has been followed, over the last 10 years, by theoretical approaches to intercultural theatre by Pavis, and in a scathing critique by Rustom Bharucha. The debate is only just beginning. In 12 two-hour lecture/seminar sessions (spread over six weeks) this module will introduce the major Western intercultural theatre artists of this century, and discuss their intercultural theatre practice in the light of the theory and the criticism. Finally, an alternative model of interculturalism is proposed, inviting lively discussion.
Reading Lists
Books ** Essential Reading
Bharucha, Rustom (1993) Theatre and the World. Essay on Performance and Politics of Culture
London & New York: Routledge
Pavis, Patrice (1996) The Intercultural Performance Reader
London, New York: Routledge
** Recommended Text
Artaud, Antonin (1974) The Theatre and its Double (Collected Works Vol. 4, translated by Victor Corti)
London: Calder & Boyars Ltd.
Barba, Eugenio and Nicola Savarese (1991) The Secret Art of the Performer. A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology
London & New York: Routledge
Grotowski, Jerzy (1969) Towards a Poor Theatre, ed. Eugenio Barber with a preface by Peter Brook
London: Metheun
Pavis, Patrice (1992) Theatre at the Crossroads of Culture
London & New York: Routledge
Shevtsova, Maria (1993) Theatre and Cultural Interaction (Sydney Studies in Society and Culture 9)
Sydney: University of Sydney Press