The Actor and the Playwright: Adaptation on the Early Eighteenth-Century, English Stage
Item
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Title
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The Actor and the Playwright: Adaptation on the Early Eighteenth-Century, English Stage
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:10cf7c83e5e1:10917
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identifier
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11254
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Creator
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Anthony-Moore, Ellen,
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Contributor
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Judith Milhous
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Date
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2011
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Theater history
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Abstract
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This dissertation examines the ways in which classical, neoclassical and Renaissance plays were adapted and staged on the early eighteenth-century, London stage. The plays that became box office successes were generally the ones that best displayed the talents and attributes of popular performers. By understanding the lives and careers of the greatest actors of this generation, and their role in the commercial theatre, we can better understand why the now canonized plays of ancient Greece, France, or the Elizabethan period were modified in ways that most modern scholars find puzzling.;By the beginning of the eighteenth century in England, actors and actresses were becoming public personalities in an unprecedented way. From the time of Thomas Betterton's death in 1709, to the end of the triumvirate management of Drury Lane by Colley Cibber, Robert Wilks and Barton Booth in 1727, there were a handful of actors who can lay claim to being the most well known and respected performers of this generation. In chapter one, I outline what is known about eighteenth-century acting methods and techniques as well as the lines of certain key actors. Chapters two and three explore the genres of tragedy and historical tragedy, emphasizing the importance of the celebrity actress and the recent vogue for she-tragedy. Chapter four is centrally concerned with trends in comedy and farce and the preoccupation with the misadventures of young rakes, fops, cheats and the like.;This dissertation ultimately concludes that by looking at the way contemporary authors adapted the most prominent playwrights of previous generations, we can better understand the theatre of the eighteenth-century. Ultimately, the process of play adaptation was one that was highly influenced by the demands of a commercial, celebrity centered theatre rather than by literary ideals or political ideology.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Theatre
