This thesis explores the theoretical and dramaturgical challenges faced by modern productions of the Oresteia with particular reference to two modern Royal National Theatre productions: Sir Peter Hall's (1981) and Katie Mitchell's (1999). It argues that to appreciate these challenges requires a detailed knowledge of the theatricality of the original text. In support of this position, this thesis contains a detailed analysis of Aeschylus' Agamemnon exploring how the playwright creates the play's world in text and performance. The discussion's focus concentrates on how theatrical space (seen, implied, and diegetic) constructs the world of the play. Concomitant in this discussion is an analysis of how Aeschylus invites the audience to decode the play's theatricality through its knowledge of epic literature and its own non-theatrical spatial environments and practices. To facilitate this understanding, the text and performance are explored with reference to political, domestic and ritual space. In considering these productions, the assumption of theatre reviews that productions can be described as adhering to either modernising or archeologically inspired staging practices is challenged. It is argued that modern productions should be analysed with reference to directorial, translator, and actor intentions. Through a methodology based on interviewing theatre practitioners, the productions of Hall and Mitchell are seen to be irreducibly modern, yet still maintain a relationship with Aeschylus. Hall's use of ancient staging conventions is seen to be a modern interpretation of the theatrical past, which aimed at communicating the foreignness of Aeschylus. In contract, Mitchell's use of modern staging techniques made the Oresteia familiar to a modern audience, but, by suggesting political, domestic, and ritual equivalents, still articulated with the ancient performance.

It is the purpose of this dissertation to examine in detail those types of dramatic performances in the period 1580-1660 which were not conditioned by the exigencies of a regular theatre and a paying audience, academic and, to a certain extent, court productins have been omitted in order to concentrate attention on less thoroughly investigated branches of the subject.

This thesis explores women and theatre for development in Swaziland. It focuses on how theatre for development is used as a tool in the development of women. Firstly, I examine the key concepts used throughout the thesis and I pay special attention to Theatre for Development. In the second chapter, I give an account of the country's history and pay special attention to the social status of women. In chapter 3, I examine the various forms of performance found in Swaziland and how they impact on the development of Swazi women. In the fourth chapter, I consider the evolution of literary practice in Swaziland and discuss two play-texts in English by H.I.E Dhlomo, a key literary figure and pioneer playwright of modem black drama in South Africa. I explore A Witch in My Heart by Hilda Kuper, a white anthropologist who lived in Swaziland in the mid twentieth century, and lastly. The Paper Bride by Zodwa Motsa, a contemporary Swazi writer. Next, in chapter 5, 1 investigate the first phase of Theatre for Development in Swaziland where non-governmental organizations, the Swazi Government and independent individuals worked together using Theatre for Development in Swazi communities. I consider first the workshops initiated by the youth. In chapter 6, I give an account of workshops involving whole communities and the kudliwa inhloko ebandla, a workshop that involved men only. In all these workshops 1 examine how they impacted on the development of women. I then conclude with a discussion of the findings of the study and their implications for the development of women.

There has always been a high degree of interest in contextual and historical awareness of the situation in which the plays of Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists were conceived. The same can be said of the works of the playwrights of the Spanish Golden Age. In the last half-century or so, the quality of research and research tools has increased exponentially, and the picture we draw of these early modern playworlds is ever more detailed and colourful. And yet, the corrosive nature of time has left gaps in our canvas that a single-country corpus of documents and evidence may not allow us to fill. A comparative transnational approach, however, often provides researchers with the sought-after ways through which one can take the limits of investigation one step further. With this intention in mind, this thesis surveys the landscape of the theatrical culture of early modern London and Madrid, the two most comparable 'playgrounds' in Renaissance Europe. The impressive similarities in infrastructures, arrangements and production of these two theatrical capitals not only begs for an in-depth comparison between them, but also invites consideration of whether the knowledge of one 'playground' can help shed light on the obscurities of the other. The project is divided into four different topics: the city and the neighbourhoods in which the playhouses were built, the playhouses themselves and their physical and social attributes, the playmakers (dramatists, actors, managers and all those agents participating in the theatrical event) and the relationship between the theatre and the emerging print culture. Each topic or chapter provides a comparative survey of the theatre history developed for each country's theatrical cultures in the first sub-chapter, and in the second an example of how this newly acquired knowledge benefits the early modern English and Spanish literary critic alike. In particular, the thesis is geared toward explaining the fundamental differences between the theatrical landscapes of Shakespeare's London and Lope de Vega's Madrid: why there were no indoor commercial playhouses in Madrid like the Blackfriars theatre of the English capital, and why there was such a large quantitative difference in dramatic production between the playwrights of both nations.

Cette thèse de doctorat est le fruit de trois années de recherches sur le théâtre dans les camps nazis. Ce travail traite principalement des camps en Allemagne, tout en y adjoignant trois exceptions : le ghetto de Theresienstadt, le camp de transit de Westerbork, ainsi que le camp d’Auschwitz-Birkenau. Selon la spécificité de chaque camp, les créations furent officielles ou clandestines, servirent à la propagande nazie ou au contraire œuvrèrent à mener une lutte contre le national-socialisme ou pour la survie des prisonniers. Ces différences de conditions permettent de comprendre pourquoi la création artistique a pu être plus prolifique dans certains lieux. C’est dans ces camps que les prisonniers et déportés, hommes et femmes, appartenant ou non au monde du spectacle, choisirent le théâtre pour s’exprimer, depuis le spectacle Cirkus Conzentrazani donné en août 1933 jusqu’au Kazet Théâtre ou à Zebra, deux troupes concentrationnaires donnant des pièces dans les camps dans les jours suivant la Libération, en 1945. Le travail s’appuie sur de très nombreux témoignages (une trentaine d’interviews réalisées expressément pour cette thèse), des archives (une vingtaine de pièces inédites et traduites pour ce doctorat) et des fonds privés (correspondances, manuscrits). Nous souhaitons tenter de dresser le portrait de ces créations théâtrales, qu’elles aient été imaginées, écrites, jouées, qu’elles soient parties en tournées ou non. L’initiative fut parfois si éloignée de nos attentes classiques du théâtre qu’il est délicat de parler de création théâtrale ou même de théâtre tout simplement. Nous nous intéresserons aux réalités, aux enjeux et à la postérité de ces initiatives créées dans un environnement extrême qui remet en question la possibilité d’existence d’un quelconque théâtre mais aussi la survie même de l’homme. Une initiative de l’extrême qui n’aurait pas dû être. / This PhD is the result of 3 years of research on theater in the nazi camps. It deals mainly with the plays performed and written in the German camps, and three other camps: the Therensienstadt ghetto, the Westerbork transit camp, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. Depending on the specificity of each camp, the creations were official or clandestine, and either served the nazi propaganda or contributed to the prisoners’ survival and resistance to national-socialism. Those differences in the living conditions enable us to understand why artistic creation was more prolific in some places. In those camps, male and female prisoners and deportees who did or did not belong to the world of show business, chose theater as a means to express themselves as early as August 1933 with the Cirkus Conzentrazani, and also after the war, with the Kazet theater or Zebra, two concentrationary theater troupes which performed plays in the camps during the days that followed the Liberation in 1945.This work explores the information contained in many interviews ( about 30 interviews which were conducted especially for this thesis), archives ( about twenty previously unpublished plays translated for this study), and private funds ( letters, manuscripts). We wish to attempt to draw a portrait of these theatrical creations, whether they were imagined, written, performed in the camps or on tour. The initiative the prisoners took was often so remote from our traditional conception of theater that it is delicate to talk about theatrical creation or even theater. We will focus on what happened, what was at stake and the posterity of these initiatives created in an extreme environment which questions the very possibility of doing theater but also man’s survival. It was an extreme experience which should never have been. / Die Vorliegende Doktorarbeit ist das Ergebnis dreijähriger Forschung über das Theater in den Konzentrationslagern des Zweiten Weltkriegs.Dabei geht es hier vor allem um Lager in Deutschland, mit drei Ausnahmen: dem Getto Theresienstadt, dem Durchgangslager Westerbork und dem Lager Auschwitz-Birkenau. Je nach Besonderheit des jeweiligen Lagers fand das künstlerische Schaffen offiziell oder im Verborgenen statt, diente der Nazipropaganda oder trug ganz im Gegenteil zum Kampf gegen den Nationalsozialismus oder zum Überleben der Gefangenen bei. Aufgrund dieser unterschiedlichen Bedingungen versteht man, warum das künstlerische Schaffen an manchen Orten ergiebiger war, an anderen sehr viel sporadischer stattfand. Die Gefangenen und Deportierten, Männer und Frauen, unabhängig davon, ob sie aus der Welt der darstellenden Künste kamen oder nicht, machten in den Lagern Theater, um sich zu äußern, von der Vorstellung 'Cirkus Conzentrazani' im August 1933 an bis zum 'Kazet Theater oder Zebra', zwei KZ-Theatertruppen, die 1945 nach der Befreiung im Lager Stücke aufführten. Die Arbeit stützt sich auf zahlreiche Zeugenaussagen (aus etwa dreißig speziell für diese Doktorarbeit geführten Interviews), auf Archivdokumente (ungefähr 20 unveröffentlichte und für diese Doktorarbeit übersetzte Stücke) und private Bestände (Korrespondenz und Manuskripte). Die vorliegende Arbeit möchte ein Bild von diesen Theaterproduktionen zeichnen, ob sie nur ausgedacht, schriftlich fixiert oder gespielt worden waren oder als solche auf Tournee gingen. Vom satirischen Kabarett bis hin zur ätzend-scharfen Revue über Neuinterpretationen von Klassikern oder autobiographische Stücke haben die in den Lagern schaffenden Künstler in vielen Stilrichtungen gearbeitet. Manchmal war das Unterfangen so weit von unseren klassischen Vorstellungen von Theater entfernt, dass es schwierig ist, von Theaterschaffen oder überhaupt von Theater zu reden. In Verbindung mit Lager hat sich das Theater neu erfunden. Das Hauptaugenmerk dieser Arbeit richtet sich auf die Fakten, Probleme und Nachwirkungen dieser Unternehmungen, die in einem extremen Umfeld entstanden sind, das die Möglichkeit von Theater überhaupt, aber auch das Überleben von Menschen generell in Frage stellt. Unternehmungen in einer unglaublichen Extremsituation. Warum sind Menschen in einem Lager schöpferisch tätig – wie und für wen?

Il est très délicat de parler « d’identité » cubaine sans la problématiser, la nuancer ou la circonstancier. Cuba est pourtant une île fouettée par des courants venus de tous les horizons, un creuset où se sont mêlées les cultures qui semblent définir son caractère propre. Le cas du théâtre est un exemple incontestable. Le théâtre cubain est un art plus ou moins sinistré à l’intérieur même de ses frontières. Mais après la révolution il commence à renaître. Le théâtre cubain a accompagné l’histoire de la révolution cubaine au milieu d’un siècle de grandes guerres et de mouvement de libération nationale. L’éclosion des années 1960 paraît ainsi être l’apogée de l’écriture dramatique cubaine, et la représentation dans le pays, de ce fait, le théâtre cubain rencontre une spécificité propre à l’intérieur et en dehors de l’île. Les dramaturges cubains représentent dans leurs œuvres la thématique cubaine dans et en dehors de l’île, intimement lié à la circonstance politique révolutionnaire et à ses conséquences dans la famille cubaine et l’individu. Tout ceci participe du « cubain », autant d’exemples qui montrent la difficulté de parler d’un théâtre cubain. Il n’y pas qu’une seule façon de faire du cubain, car chaque auteur, chaque histoire est différente et implique différentes manières de percevoir « la cubania », que ce soit dans l’aspect comique, tragique, réaliste, « absurdiste » ou politique, la spécificité de l’île est bien là. / It is difficult to talk about Cuban "identity" without making an issue of, qualifying or detailing it. Yet Cuba is an island lashed by currents from every direction, a melting pot of cultures which seem to define its own character. Theatre is a case in point. Cuban theatre is an art which is more less confined to the interior of its borders. But after the revolution, it has begun to be reborn. Cuban theatre has gone hand in hand with the story of the Cuban revolution in the middle of a century of great wars and the national liberation movement. The dawn of the 60s thus seems to be the peak of dramatic Cuban literature and, because of this, Cuban theatre, in the way that it is performed, encounters a specificity both on as well as off the island.". Cuban playwrights represent in their work the Cuban theme in and outside the island, intimately linked to the revolutionary political circumstances and to their consequences on Cuban families and individuals. All of this makes up what it is to be "Cuban", so many examples which demonstrate the difficulty of talking about Cuban theatre. There is not only one way to 'do' Cuban, since every author, every story is different and requires different ways to perceive "la cubania", whether it is in a comic, tragic, realist, "absurdist" or political way, the specificity of the island is always there.

This thesis explores dissident theatre in East Central Europe during the second half of the Cold War (1964-1989). Contextualised within the discussion of individual theatrical and performance cultures and practices in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and The German Democratic Republic, it examines how theatre was used to subvert the dominant ideologies and dissent from the status quos in these countries. It establishes a framework that addresses the divergences between Anglo-American political theatre and Eastern Bloc dissident theatre, and discusses the necessity of considering the work of subcultural and subversive artists when analysing work of this kind. The core chapters discuss the theatrical and dramatic techniques, and the intention of the artists with regards to the work itself and to audience interpretation and response in the plays and performances of Václav Havel (Czechoslovakia), Theatre of the Eighth Day (Poland) and Autoperforationsartisten (East Germany). Further, these chapters demonstrate the significant differences in the ways dissident theatre and performance was conceptualised and staged. This thesis also analyses similarities in the theoretical and philosophical motivations for the work of the artists, and the development of ‘second’ or ‘parallel’ societies as a result of the performances.

Cette thèse analyse le rôle du théâtre historique dans le processus de construction de la nation au Pérou entre la moitié du XIXe siècle et le début du XXe siècle. Elle propose l’étude des dynamiques du théâtre historique, de son développement dans la société péruvienne comme expression du développement de ce processus de construction nationale. La période étudiée est d'une complexité particulière pour le Pérou et décisive pour comprendre les difficultés de la construction de la nation et de l'identité nationale. La thèse privilégie Lima, la capitale, et souhaite démontrer que les drames historiques de cette période- représentés ou non- révélaient une image du passé – imaginaire ou non - qui exprimait les aspirations nationales ou les idéaux des classes moyennes ou des élites du pays. Il s’agissait pour la plupart de libéraux, secteur auquel appartenait la majorité des dramaturges et du public. La thèse souhaite démontrer aussi que le théâtre historique n’a pu pleinement se développer que dans les jointures d'enthousiasme nationaliste et dans un contexte d’optimisme à l’égard du présent et de l’avenir du pays que pouvaient avoir les élites péruviennes. / This doctoral dissertation explores the role that historical theatre played in the process of nation-building in Peru between the mid-nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. Local theatre’s dynamics mirrored the development of nation-building in this country. The period under study is of particular complexity in Peruvian history, and it allows us to understand the difficulties arising between the construction of the nation and the development of a Peruvian national identity. This research focuses on Lima, Peru’s capital city. It demonstrates that the historical dramas written in this period, even when not all of them were set on stage, sometimes conveyed a realistic image of the past whereas other times that representation was fictitious. These plays expressed the middle and/or upper classes’ national aspirations and ideals. Most play writers and the audiences that attended the plays belonged to the middle and/or upper classes and considered themselves as liberals. This dissertation also argues that Peruvian historical theatre only evolved in circumstances in which the local elites were filled by nationalist enthusiasm and optimism about Peru’s contemporary present and future.

Arthur Adamov (1908-1970) est une figure peu étudiée du théâtre contemporain. Le regard culturel et social que nous avons adopté doit permettre de renouveler l'intérêt pour cet homme de théâtre inclassable, mais dont l'apport a été majeur. D'abord lié à l'«absurde», il s'est tourné vers un théâtre social voire politique, sans jamais s'y cantonner, alors même qu'il se rapprochait du parti communiste. Cette thèse analyse les évolutions de son théâtre, qui n'a jamais été figé, et dont les formes se sont transformées en fonction des évolutions politiques et sociales ainsi que celles du milieu théâtral. Elle met en lumière l'intellectuel engagé et les divers répertoires d'action qu'il a utilisés, surtout entre la crise de mai 1958 et la fin de la guerre d'Algérie. L'œuvre d'Adamov a reflété la société de son temps, elle a parfois été encouragée, a suscité des enthousiasmes, mais aussi de vives critiques. Sont mises en exergue autour de son œuvre les sociabilités et instances de légitimation : directeurs de salles, revues, metteurs en scène. Les lieux où il est joué, en France - des salles avant-gardistes aux théâtres de la banlieue «rouge» - ou à l'étranger, déterminent une géographie propre aux théâtres ouverts à une dimension politique et à un nouveau public. Les écarts entre le public souhaité et réel, comme entre le théâtre théorisé, pensé et la pratique forment un autre axe d'analyse. Enfin, cette recherche dresse un tableau de la réception de son œuvre, particulièrement empreinte des sensibilités de son temps. C'est une utopie artistique et politique quelque peu enfouie, qui surgit dans sa dimension singulière et collective. / Arthur Adamov (1908-1970) is a Jess studied figure of contemporary theatre. The social and cultural point of view that we adopt allows renewing interest for this unclassifiable and playwright. Initially linked to the "absurd", he shifted towards social and political theatre; meanwhile he was getting closer to the communist party. This thesis analyzes the evolution of his theatre that never freezes but reconfigures with the transformation of theatre, political and social backgrounds. We try to bring out the engaged intellectual and the list of his various actions that reached its peak between May 1958 cri sis and the end of the Algerian war. Adamov' s work reflects the society of his time; it has been encouraged, provoked enthusiasms as well as received hard critics. Sociability and legitimation instances reconfigure around his work: theatre hall directors, magazines, producers. The places when he has been played, in France - from avant-garde halls to the "red" suburb - or abroad, determines the particular geography of theaters opened to certain political dimension as well as to a new audience. The gap between the wished and real audience, as between theorized, imagined and practical theater, form other axes. Finally, this research provides information about the reception of Adamov's works, especially the impressions and sensibilities of his time. It's all about artistic and political utopia somehow buried which will arise in its collective dimension.

Situated within the theatrical turn in Christian theology, this project explores theatre as a model for theological ethics, looking particularly at the dynamic interplay between formation as disponibility (availability) and performance as fittingness (appropriateness). A primary goal is to demonstrate how disponible formation and fitting performance are multi-dimensional realities oriented simultaneously toward the triune God (as playwright-producer-protagonist), Scripture (as transcript and prescript), the church (as characters in company), tradition (as performance paradigms), unbelievers (as audience), and local context (as theatrical environment and place). As a result, this theodramatic approach seeks to integrate theology and ethics, describing and resourcing everyday Christian practice with reflection on the theodrama. In addition, focusing on the dynamic interplay between formation and performance represents an attempt to unify agent-oriented with action-oriented theological ethics within a holistic, theodramatic framework. Finally, through attentive interaction with theatrical theory and practice, this project contributes to a fruitful and growing dialogue between Christian theology and the arts, particularly how theatre provides imaginative, heuristic models for theological ethics pursued within the liberating constraints of confessional Christianity.