The purpose of this thesis is to make further contribution in filling the gap in detailed analyses of George Farquhar's plays.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OFClaude Ryan Towery, for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater, presented on April 1, 2022, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: THE FAMILY THAT PLAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER: DIRECTING HAY FEVER BY NOËL COWARD MAJOR PROFESSOR: Professor Olusegun Ojewuyi From the spring of 2021 to the spring of 2022, the period of time during which this document was written, the Covid-19 pandemic was still ongoing. The pandemic’s cataclysmal events precipitated a paradigm shift across cultures and societies around the world – a shift that affected countless vocations, leaving many confused and uncertain as to how they would continue working, supporting themselves and their families, pursuing their dreams, etc. Every theatre practitioner in the United States was negatively affected in some form or another, and many lost their jobs. Questions as to how theatre could continue and/or survive ran the gamut. This document chronicles how my thesis production survived. The Family That Plays Together Stays Together... reviews my process and journey of directing Noël Coward’s Hay Fever, and the challenges and triumphs that came with directing a theatrical production during a worldwide pandemic – a journey that has forever changed me and my perception of this art form and the world around me. This paper, in chronological order, details all the phases necessary in bringing this production to fruition. Chapter One includes the preliminary research, playwright’s biography, play analysis, and directorial interpretation of the script (vision & concept). Chapter Two details the pre-production process, examining the design and production meetings, dramaturgy, and marketing. Chapter Three delineates the production process, auditions and casting, rehearsals, the development of techniques employed, and performances. Chapter Four is a personal reflection of the pitfalls, discoveries, and changes I i would make if I were to direct this play in the future. The final chapter also includes a section on techniques and practices that will help me grow in my craft as a director, artist, and academician. I have come up with a phrase that summarizes my directing of Hay Fever, my graduate school experience, and practicing theatre during a worldwide pandemic; “Life is but a game, and a game that must be played to the finish.”

A retired actress and her quirky family trap four guests in elaborately woven games in Noel Coward’s Hay Fever. Within the concept of “playing house,” the glamour of Coward’s work lives on through scenery, costumes, and lighting, while his quirkier side is highlighted in hopes of making his Comedy of Manners accessible to a new audience.

Considering the comedies of the Restoration, and those of Congreve in particular, as the prototype of the comedy of manners and as the model for Sheridan later to revive and emulate, this thesis proposes to point out how the concepts of morality and wit have been a major obstacle to literary critics in analyzing the comedy of manners from its very beginnings, to discuss morality and wit as the basis of a proper evaluation of the comedy of manners both from the standpoint of seventeenth-century precepts and those of a century later, and, finally, to show how, during the early periods in which the comedy of manners flourished,--that of Congreve, 1693-1700; and of Sheridan, 1775-1779--morality and wit were modified and used to suit the divergent sociological and psychological conditions of each period.

Den här avhandlingen tar till syfte att närmare förklara hur det i svensk 1700-talslitteratur vanligt förekommande satiriska porträtterandet av en landsman som har låtit sig påverkas av fransk kultur, i seder, språk och mode, på sådant sätt att han har blivit en ”sprätthök”, utgör en kritik av det franska kulturinflytandet. Avhandlingen visar också hur det kritiska förhållningssättet till det franska kulturinflytandet, som kanaliseras i beskrivningarna av sprätthöksfigurens förfranskade later, är inbegripet i diskurser om nationell tillhörighet, kultur, moral och språk. Det åberopade källmaterialet, till större delen från perioden 1720-1772, består av varjehanda moralsatirisk litteratur, varav sedekomedier och moraliska veckoskrifter utgör kärnan i analysen. Den analytiska delen av avhandlingen är indelad i tre större kapitel. Det första analsykapitlet tar itu med hur sprätthöksfiguren definieras i källmaterialet. Dessutom visar kapitlet hur resandet till Frankrike och i synnerhet till staden Paris, samtidigt som det ingår i tidens allmänt hållna kritik mot unga adelsmäns bildningsresande, utpekas som förklaringen till att svenskar omskapas till förfranskade sprätthökar. Det andra analyskapitlet visar hur sprätthökarna kan sägas förkroppsliga de stereotypiska föreställningarna om en moraliskt fördärvlig fransk nationalkaraktär och därigenom bidra till konstruktionen av motbilden till en svensk, dygdig och positiv nationalkaraktär. Det tredje analyskapitlet behandlar de språkideologiska motiv och den kritik mot en förfranskad umgängeskultur som kan utläsas i åsikterna om och beskrivningarna av sprätthökarnas språkbruk. / The subject of this dissertation concerns 18th century literary depictions of a certain satirical character, the fop, or in Swedish the “sprätthök”. The overall aim of this study is to investigate how the portrayals of the “sprätthök” are involved in the creation of a critical discourse on French cultural influence and how this, in turn, has a bearing on 18th century conceptions of national identity, morals, culture and language. The material referred to in this dissertation consists of Swedish 18th century literature during the period 1720-1772, mainly comedies of manners and moral weeklies. The analytical part of the dissertation is divided into three major chapters, each dealing with a certain theme. The first of these chapters addresses the question of how the “sprätthök” is defined in the source material and moreover how the criticism of educational travel abroad, to France and Paris, is part of the discussion of how young male Swedes are transformed into Frenchified fops. The second of these chapters deals with the concept of national character and how Swedish fops can be said to embody the negative image of the French national character. The third major analytical chapter concentrates on the language used by fops, and the underlying criticism based on language ideology which is thereby evoked.

Émile Augier, Alexandre Dumas fils et Victorien Sardou figurent parmi les dramaturges les plus importants du Second Empire (1852-1870). À travers cette étude, nous nous proposons d’examiner les comédies de mœurs de ces auteurs sous l’angle de la sociopoétique pour ce qui concerne les règles du savoir-vivre et les bonnes manières, examinées dans leur fonction dramatique et théâtrale. Nous nous sommes attachée à l’étude de l’esthétique théâtrale du savoir-vivre qui englobe le lieu (Paris), les personnages (les mondaines et demi-mondaines, les mondains et les domestiques) et les moyens de communication à distance (la lettre et les cartes). Nous nous sommes ensuite penchée sur le caractère spectaculaire du savoir-vivre, à savoir la «distinction» ou la mise en scène de soi, la gestuelle des salutations, les «toilettes tapageuses» et les arts de la table. Les composantes des codes de politesse permettent de parler d’une dramaturgie du savoir-vivre qui caractérise les comédies de mœurs. Cette dramaturgie, que d’aucuns estiment surannée, reflète toutefois les usages représentatifs d’une époque. / Émile Augier, Alexandre Dumas fils and Victorien Sardou appear among the most important dramatists of the Second Empire era (1852-1870). In this thesis, comedies of manners of these authors are considered from a “socio-poetical” point of view. Rules of etiquette and good manners are analyzed in their dramatic and theatrical function. Theatrical aesthetic of manners which includes locality (Paris), characters (mondaines and demi-mondaines, mondains and servants), and media of communication (letters and cards), is examined first. Afterwards, spectacular aspects of good manners are studied : “distinction”, greeting’s gesture, outfits and “arts de la table”. Components of rules of etiquette lead to think of a certain dramaturgy of good manners which are characteristic of comedy of manners. This dramaturgy, which is considered as ‘old fashioned’ by some people, reflects however typical manners of an epoch.