Publication details
Restoration Stage on (Screens and) Stages of Today
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Description | Obscene images from Restoration theatre scenes in Libertine (both the play and the film); shocking revelations about private and public lives of the first modern English female actors such as Nell Gwynn in the eponymous play; and reimagined historical theatre productions such as The School for Scandal in The Duchess all serve as examples of the contemporary fascination with the imagery, conventions and morality of Restoration theatre. The presentation will look at several contemporary works for the screen and/or stage in order to examine the image that Restoration theatre receives in its popular re-creations in the contemporary production. Arguing that the present portrayal is fascinated by the frivolous, excessively sexualized and provocative imagery of conventions employed by the Restoration theatre, the presentation will show that today’s conventions play down these very elements, in fact producing a rather moderate (or, “censored” if you will) representation of the Restoration theatre practice. Various visual materials – of mildly disturbing nature, judging from today’s standards – will be shown in order to illustrate differences between various aspects of performance in Restoration and today, and today’s construction of Restoration portrayal of these aspects, including for example: the display of the human body (with an emphasis on symbolic differentiation between the male and female sexes); spatial proximity between the performers and audiences; and the semiotic distinction between private/public personas of the performers. |