Creative Appropriations: Everyman on the Contemporary Stage

IF 0.4 0 THEATER
Julia Rössler
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The morality tale Everyman has in recent years seen a notable renaissance in contemporary theater: Everybody (2017) by US American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Carol Ann Duffy’s adaptation of Everyman (2015) at the National Theatre in London, and director/playwright Milo Rau’s work Everywoman (2020) have turned to it. In this article, I conceptualize these theatrical works as creative appropriations which stage the vexing relation between canonical text and contemporary theater practice. They are marked by an ambivalent dynamic in that they are far less conclusive about their own return to and reworking of the literary source. Their mode of representation oscillates between adaptation, appropriation, and playful de- and reconstruction. Despite evident contrasts in theme and form, these works openly reference their literary source and draw destabilizing effects from their montage of different modes of language and writing (citational speech, self-narration, confession) and performative elements. As I argue, however, these productions cannot be easily aligned with postdramatic theory’s advocation of a deconstructivist approach towards the dramatic text. The text, rather, is treated as an archive of poetic figures, narrative ideas, and moral concerns. In these productions, the textual material is not deconstructed but rather blended, momentarily decentered, and interwoven with vital performative elements (media, dance, collective speaking) which allows each creative appropriation to explore how canonical literary sources may speak to our contemporary culture and society.
创造性挪用:当代舞台上的每个人
近年来,道德故事《每个人》在当代戏剧中出现了引人注目的复兴:美国剧作家布兰登·雅各布斯-詹金斯的《每个人》(2017)、伦敦国家剧院卡罗尔·安·达菲改编的《每个人》(2015)、导演兼剧作家米洛·劳的《每个女人》(2020)都转向了它。在本文中,我将这些戏剧作品概念化为创造性的挪用,它们展现了规范文本与当代戏剧实践之间令人烦恼的关系。他们的特点是一种矛盾的动态,因为他们对自己对文学来源的回归和改造远没有定论。他们的表现模式在适应、挪用和俏皮的去和重建之间摇摆。尽管在主题和形式上有明显的反差,但这些作品公开引用了它们的文学来源,并从它们不同的语言和写作模式(引用式演讲、自我叙述、忏悔)和表演元素的蒙太奇中汲取了不稳定的影响。然而,正如我所说,这些作品不能轻易地与后戏剧理论所倡导的解构主义戏剧文本方法相一致。相反,文本被视为诗歌人物、叙事思想和道德关切的档案。在这些作品中,文本材料没有被解构,而是被混合,暂时去中心化,并与重要的表演元素(媒体,舞蹈,集体演讲)交织在一起,这使得每一个创造性的挪用都可以探索经典文学来源如何与我们的当代文化和社会对话。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.80
自引率
40.00%
发文量
20
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