The nineteenth century at the Royal National Theatre of London: adaptation, neo-Victorianism and the renegotiation of identities
- Autores: Sarai Ramos Cedres
- Directores de la Tesis: Ana Fernández-Caparrós Turina (dir. tes.), Laura Monrós Gaspar (codir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat de València ( España ) en 2025
- Idioma: inglés
- Número de páginas: 344
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Miriam Borham Puyal (presid.), María Gaviña-Costero (secret.), Benjamin Poore (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Lenguas, Literaturas y Culturas, y sus Aplicaciones por la Universitat de València (Estudi General) y la Universitat Politècnica de València
- Calificación: Sobresaliente Cum Laude
- Materias:
- Enlaces
- Tesis en acceso abierto en: RODERIC
- Resumen
This PhD thesis aims at contributing to and promoting the production of research within the field of neo-Victorian theatre, as it is a relatively unexplored research field. In order to do so, this thesis explores on a general level the presence of the nineteenth-century at the Royal National Theatre of London from 1963 to 2018, and on a specific level on neo-Victorian drama within that theatre by analysing four theatre adaptations of British nineteenth-century novels. In this thesis, thus, I will answer the following questions: Does theatre fulfilling the mainstream definition of neo-Victorianism provided by Ann Heilmann and Mark Llewellyn exist? How much is the National Theatre concerned with plays related to the nineteenth century? And, what topics are shared by those adaptations of nineteenth-century novels? This thesis is organised into eight chapters which are divided into three parts. Part one is comprised by chapters one and two and it is devoted to the exploration of the theoretical framework. Being key concepts in neo-Victorianism, as well as necessary for the last stage of this research, chapter one compiles the theory dedicated to the concepts of adaptation and appropriation. This chapter reviews briefly concepts like `intertextuality¿ and `hypertextuality¿ to focus afterwards on the theories and definitions developed by Linda Hutcheon and Julie Sanders respectively, as they are two of the most contemporary theorists on the topic. Because of the flexibility of Sanders¿ definitions in contrast with Hutcheon¿s, this research adheres to Sanders¿. Chapter two focuses on neo-Victorianism, its origins, the different attempts at naming the discipline and its relation ` and that of theatre ` with the renegotiation of identities. Because of the wider acceptance of the term `neo-Victorianism¿, I focus on Ann Heilmann and Mark Llewellyn¿s definition of neo-Victorian texts, which are those that are `self-consciously engaged with the act of (re)interpretation, (re)discovery and (re)vision concerning the Victorians¿ (4, emphasis in the original). Such engagement is usually evident in neo-Victorian texts through the fact that they voice those characters commonly forced into silence by society. Most importantly, in this chapter I also explore the relationship between neo-Victorianism and the collective and cultural identities of British society, and its relationship with theatre. On this note, I point at Brexit affecting the population¿s sense of identity at individual and collective levels, which may have led to a re-evaluation of their place in society and history, as well as a renegotiation of their collective and cultural identities, thus looking back to the nineteenth-century past in order to undertake such renegotiation and re-evaluation. These processes of renegotiation and re-evaluation are evident in all four case studies analysed at the end of this thesis. The second part of this thesis contains chapters three and four. Both chapters establish the relationship between the National theatre and the nineteenth century. In chapter three I compare the number of plays related to the nineteenth century (including adaptations and revisions of the past) in relation to other representative types of plays. This first analysis shows that plays related to the nineteenth century were not predominant within the repertoire of the theatre and their performance was irregular in time. However, it appears to exist certain stability in their performance since the early 2000s, which is coincidental with the development of neo-Victorianism. In chapter four, I focus specifically on the plays related to the nineteenth century, and conclude that plays by British and Irish authors are predominant, and that almost a quarter of the entries in the database are revisions of the nineteenth-century past and almost another quarter are adaptations from nineteenth-century texts. This fact certainly aligns with neo-Victorianism¿s revisionist endeavours. The last four chapters of this PhD dissertation are devoted to the study of four theatre adaptations of British nineteenth-century novels: Frankenstein, adapted by Nick Dear and directed by Danny Boyle; Treasure Island (2014), adapted by Bryony Lavery and directed by Polly Findlay; Jane Eyre (2015), adapted by the Company and directed by Sally Cookson; and Wonder.land, with books and lyrics by Moira Buffini, music by Damon Albarn and directed by Rufus Norris. All four productions show features in common, namely the redefinition of their characters mainly through the use of the doppelgänger motif, and the voicing of commonly silenced characters. Those two main interests intermingle with other concerns relevant for audiences nowadays. The self-conscious exploration of characters¿ identities together with the other topics dealt with in these adaptations, and the voicing of silenced characters constitute the level of self-engagement required by Heilmann and Llewellyn¿s definition of neo-Victorian texts. This dissertation concludes by affirming the existence of neo-Victorian drama fulfilling Heilmann and Llewellyn¿s definition. Furthermore I propose to finish analysing the production during Rufus Norris¿ tenure as Artistic Director of the National Theatre, which comes to an end in spring 2025. I also propose extending this research to other theatres, both British and international, to acquire a wider view on the presence of the nineteenth century and neo-Victorianism in theatre. Finally, I point at the appropriateness of conducting such a research during Indhu Rubasingham¿s tenure as the first female Artistic Director of the National Theatre.
