Staging Postmodernity: Contemporary British Theatre and Drama (1995-2022) 3700-AL-SPCBTD-OG

The course presents contemporary British drama and theatre. We will discuss selected British plays written and staged in the last three decades, starting with Sarah Kane’s controversial dramas, which represent the so-called in-yer-face theatre, up to Martin Crimp’s latest theatrical experiment based on deep fake technology. The reading list includes also award-winning and highly acclaimed plays by both older and younger generations of British playwrights: Caryl Churchill, Carol Ann Duffy, Tom Stoppard, Martin McDonagh, Mike Bartlett, Joe Penhall, Sam Steiner, Nina Raine, Alice Birch. We will consider how the selected plays deal with the problems and fears of modernity, addressing issues such as: war and trauma, memory and identity, uncertainty about new technologies, problems with communication, a sense of exclusion, social and ecological effects of consumerism, a sense of threat, and fear of an impending catastrophe. We will also consider how formal innovations and experiments enter into a dialogue with traditional dramaturgy and become a way of expressing experience of fluidity, uncertainty, and anxiety, as well as a means of artistic provocation. We will analyse the texts as well as discuss selected stage performances and their reviews.

Type of course

general courses

Prerequisites (description)

Knowledge of English (at least B2)

Course coordinators

Klaudia Łączyńska

Learning outcomes

The student
• has advanced understanding of the terminology in the humanities, particularly in the field of contemporary drama, and understands its role in culture
• is familiar with methods of analysis and interpretation of dramatic texts and their stage realizations
• expands their knowledge of contemporary trends and directions in literature and culture research, with special emphasis on studies of contemporary drama

Skills
The student
• is capable of analyzing works of art, scholarly texts, and source materials using appropriate research tools
• can appreciate the diversity of opinions presented in readings and discussions and use them as a source of inspiration
• is able to recognize and interpret the fundamental problems and phenomena of contemporary times

Social competence
The student
• is ready to explore new research methods
• is committed to lifelong learning; recognizes the role of literature in personal development and in the educational process in general

Assessment criteria

The final grade will be a composite of the following partial assessments:
• class participation - 20%
• final essay (approximately 1500 words) submitted and discussed at the end of the semester – 80%

3 absences per semester are accepted.
Final grade based on the essay submitted and discussed at the end of the semester.

Bibliography

Reading list / [Lista lektur]:
Dramatic texts (key readings)

1. Sarah Kane, Blasted, 1995; or Cleansed, 1998
2. Harold Pinter, Ashes to Ashes, 1996.
3. Martin Crimp, Attempts on Her Life, 1997
4. Joe Penhall, Blue/Orange, 2000
5. Caryl Churchill, A Number, 2002
6. Martina McDonagh, The Pillowman, 2004
7. Mike Bartlett, Earthquakes in London, 2010
8. Nina Raine, Tribes, 2012
9. Sam Steiner, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, 2015
10. Carol Ann Duffy, Everyman, 2015
11. Caryl Churchill, Escaped Alone, 2016
12. Alice Birch, Anatomy of a Suicide, 2017
13. Tom Stoppard, Leopoldstadt, 2020
14. Martin Crimp, Not One of These People, 2022

Optional readings and secondary sources

• Reviews of performances and interviews with playwrights and artists
• David Lane, Contemporary British Drama, 2011.
• British Theatre of the 1990s: Interviews with Directors, Playwrights, Critics and Academics, ed. by Mireia Aragay et al., 2007.
• Contemporary British Theatre: Breaking New Ground, ed. by Vicky Angelaki, 2013.
• Aleks Sierz, In-Yer_Face Theatre: British Drama Today, 2001
• Aleks Sierz, Rewriting the Nation: British Theatre Today, 2011
• Vicky Angelaki, The Plays of Martin Crimp: Making Theatre Strange, 2012.
• Gabriele Griffin, “More Than a Number: Reproductive Technologies, Cloning and the Problematic of Fatherhood in Caryl Churchill’s A Number”, Atlantis, 2012

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3700-AL-SPCBTD-OG in USOSweb