you are to focus your essay on one of the performances/events we watched during class this semester. While you are welcome to mention another performance we saw, given the modest length of this assignment, you are highly encouraged to orient your argument around just one. The performance you write about can be one you addressed in your ‘review of reviews’, but you may not repeat material from your previous assessment or from work submitted for other modules.
Critical Sources: your essay should make use of at least two secondary source. The source you draw on can include academic texts (e.g. articles and books), theatre criticism, opinion and journalistic pieces, factual material, etc. To find these sources, you are welcome but not required to consult the further reading suggestions of the module. Wikipedia and other generic websites/study guides, etc. should be avoided. Your use of sources should be substantive i.e. it should be clear how they contribute to your argument.
Possible Essay Questions
- How is the performance made meaningful by its particular location in London?
- What are the codes of behaviour and expertise expected of the audience at your chosen performance? How do these codes influence the meanings of the performance?
- What values and ethos does the venue/institutional context of your chosen performance communicate? How are these values reflected (or not) in the performance event?
- How does the architecture of the building organise the meanings of the performance event?
- What theatrical tradition does the performance emerge from? Does the genre or form of the performance contribute to its meanings?
- What is the relationship between the politics addressed in the content of the performance and the performance forms it engages?
- What sort of audience does the performance assume are present? How is this assumption made visible in the performance itself?
- Choose your own question. If you have another question that you would really like to address then you may do so, on the condition that this is first discussed with your seminar leader.
