FT3NAB: National Theatres

Module Provider:

Film, Theatre & TV

Number of credits:

10 [5 ECTS credits]

Level:

H (Honours)

Terms in which taught:

Autumn, Spring and Summer

Module Convenor:

Dr A Thorpe

Pre-requisites:

maximum number of students 20

Co-requisites:

FT3NAA

Modules excluded:

Module version for:

2006/7

Aims:
This module will provide an introduction to the study of national theatres in the context of critical debates about relationships between theatrical forms and cultural identity. Students will consider the impact of cultural values and traditions and social and political developments on theatrical performance. Through close study of one or two national theatres, students will gain a specific understanding of one or two national theatrical traditions and a general understanding of the ways in which theatre is inflected by national and transnational culture.

Assessable learning outcomes:
Assessable outcomes:
By the end of the module it is expected that students will be able to:

Additional outcomes:
The module plays a significant role in the continuing development of other skills and competencies which are central to the course. It is expected that the level of skills and competencies achieved in the following will be appropriate to the level of study: oral communication and argument in group situations; deployment of research using printed and electronic resources; critical analysis and coherent argument; undertaking self-directed, independent work; presentation of written work using IT; identifying and addressing problems in the analysis of theatre.

Outline content:
In 2006/7, an extended case study on Chinese theatre will be offered. The first half of the course will, through an analysis of a range of key texts, examine recurring themes in traditional theatre (such as ancestor worship, the Taoist principles of yin and yang, Confucianism and the domination of women, as well as the importance of myth and storytelling). Students will also consider the ways in which traditional Chinese theatre has been an important source for Western innovation, through the work of directors such as Bertolt Brecht, Vsevolod Meyerhold and Jerzy Growtowski. There will be a strong practical element to this section of the course, where students will learn traditional Chinese theatre acting techniques (including excerpts from traditional plays, stick fighting and percussive accompaniments) in order to understand the aesthetic principles of the form. Students will also watch subtitled screenings of both traditional Chinese plays and contemporary Chinese films, which illustrate aspects of traditional culture.

The second half of the course will explore the development of modern theatrical forms (huaju) in China, noting how Western plays (such as Ibsen’s A Doll’s House) and the emergence of psychoanalysis paved the way for the development of the social realist theatre of Lao She. The course will analyse how the development of social realism in theatre reflected the desire for new forms following the creation of the Republic of China in 1911, as well as the work of Guo Moruo, who utilised traditional forms of theatre to comment on the political present. Students will also study the impact of the creation of the Communist People’s Republic of China in 1949 and how the emergence of Maoism, as well as the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), affected theatrical performance. Students will critically analyse the ways in which post-Cultural Revolution plays have sought to critique the prevailing hierarchies (including the patriarchal control of women), in the face of heavy state censorship. The impact of Western directors on Chinese dramatists (such as the Nobel prize winning Gao Xingjian) will also be explored, with emphasis on the work of directors such as Bertolt Brecht and Jerzy Growtowski, whose practices (initially grounded in an understanding of traditional Chinese theatre) have come full circle.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
Within the normal two hour class, teaching styles will be flexibly used and may vary week by week. Lectures will introduce the students to relevant theatrical, institutional, political and historical contexts. Seminars will focus mainly upon the analysis of texts in the light of contextual issues. Workshops will be used to enable students to develop their understanding of traditional theatre aesthetics, as well as develop their understanding of theatrical texts through the visual realisation of specific moments.

Contact hours:

Assessment:
Coursework:
In the Summer Term students submit one assignment 3,000 words in length (or equivalent). This assignment may include an element of practical work at the module convenor’s discretion.


Relative percentage of coursework: 100%

Examinations None

Requirements for a pass Minimum 40%

Reassessment arrangements
Resubmission of failed coursework.