Bibliography: leaves 221-234 / This research explores the humour and laughter in Howard Barker's Theatre of Catastrophe in
the light of Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of the carnivalesque against the backdrop of the postSecond-World-War British (post-WWII) society and cultural tendencies and problems
thereof. In this research, which explores the different stages of Barker's work – namely plays
written in the seventies, the eighties and early nineties – I argue that comedy and laughter are
pivotal to Howard Barker's theory for theatre which ultimately shaped his Theatre of
Catastrophe as a tragic theatre.
Howard Barker forged the appearance of a unique theatrical practice, the Theatre of
Catastrophe, not only through the revival of pain, death and tragedy but also through the
juxtaposition of the carnivalesque and death/tragedy. This research therefore, studies
transformation in Barker's art of theatre in a period of twenty years and demonstrates how the
playwright deviates from tenets he set for his tragic theatre without necessarily betraying its
tragic spirit. It is worth highlighting the observation that, the marriage of catastrophe and the
carnivalesque remains the most significant achievement of Barker's art of theatre.
Chapter Two of the research explores Bakhtin's theory of the carnival through the elaboration
of crucial concepts such as the grotesque imagery, laughter and the marketplace. Bakhtin's
thoughts on laughter root in Henri Bergson's theory of laughter. Definitely the realm of
laughter somewhere in between art and life, both Bergson and Bakhtin also emphasise on the
negative aspect of laughter. The engagement of individuals in the marketplace creates the
concrete presence which is crucial to the carnivalesque. Taking into account the tenets of the Bakhtinian carnivalesque, this second chapter also concisely studies the challenges posed to
the carnival theory by philosophers such as Umberto Eco and Terry Eagleton. The chapter
finally investigates the revival of the concept of the carnival in the post-war British drama by
studying David Edgar's advocacy of Augusto Boal's thoughts on the theatre and the necessity
of the carnival.
Chapters Three and Four offer close analyses of the plays written by Barker in the seventies,
eighties and early nineties with the primary aim to show the turns and shifts that he takes in
the development of his career as an oppositional playwright in search of a remedy to the
cultural malaise of his day. The plays selected for these chapters are the ones which the
playwright has categorised as his best plays, namely, Claw (1975), Stripwell (1975), The
Love of a Good Man (1978), The Power of the Dog (1984), The Castle (1985), The
Europeans (1987), (Uncle) Vanya (1992).
Chapter Five sums up the findings on the research and concludes that Barker's comic sense
goes beyond the comic sense ascribed to many tragic playwrights. The comedy which
permeates his theatre of catastrophe shares affinities with the carnival leading to a
carnivalisation of catastrophe in Barker's tragic theatre despite the claims by the Barker and his downplaying of the comedy which exists in his oeuvre. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English Studies)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/27008 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Khalvati, Mahboube |
| Contributors | Motsa, Zodwa |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (vii, 234 leaves; 1 photograph), application/pdf |
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