CFP: Shakespeare on Location (UK) (3/1/05; BSA, 9/1/05-9/4/05)

Shakespeare on Location

1 March 2005
1-4 September 2005 (BSA Conference)

What is the relationship between performance location and play-world
setting? Increasingly, Shakespeare's plays are being performed in
"alternative" or non- traditional settings, in parks, on beaches, in forest
clearings, and while these are in some ways closer to the public
theatre space of Shakespeare's time, and likely reflective of recent
popular screen adaptations of his plays, the amorphous and
unbounded nature of these spaces offers new challenges. In addition,
the performance of Shakespeare's plays in Asia, Africa, South America
and Eastern Europe is another aspect of how Shakespeare's plays are
now being performed in an increasing variety of locations.

While a moonlit forest may now be considered an ideal location for a
performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, there has been little
consideration of how such a performance space may alter
interpretation of the play world, or of the adaptation required to perform
the play in such a location. What is the impact of performing the storm
scene in Lear on a beautiful summer's day? How does one adapt
Hamlet for a beach performance? How does one adapt it for
performance in Japan or Brazil? Postcolonial theory has prompted
investigation of such diverse cultural perspectives, but such
examinations have often taken a theoretical stance; it is only in very
recent years that attention has been given to either performance
practice or audience response.

The seminar will foster a multicultural interdisciplinary approach to the
relationship between theatre location and play-world setting, drawing
on cultural studies and textual analysis, theatrical practice and
performance theory. In addition to circulating and responding to short
exploratory papers, participants are encouraged to provide short video
clips of performances that highlight the issue under discussion.

Please send proposals to Reina Green (Reina.Green_at_msvu.ca)

Dr. Reina Green
Assistant Professor, English
Mount Saint Vincent University
166 Bedford Highway
Halifax, NS
B3M 2J6

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Received on Fri Feb 04 2005 - 11:39:42 EST