This thesis considers the stage plays of Stewart Parker in terms of his expressed aim to create 'a working mode wholeness' through theatre. Focusing on issues of performance, it explores how Parker uses the past to conjure visions of alternative futures for his audiences. Part one introduces Parker’s theatre and locates this research within the field of Irish Theatre Studies. It outlines the contribution which this research hopes to make to both Parker scholarship and Irish Theatre Studies and provides an overview of the existing state of Parker criticism. Part two considers Parker's first three stage plays in terms the playfulness of his dramaturgy, his preoccupation with popular culture and the utopian experience which performance of his plays creates. Chapter 2.1 analyses Spoke song’s use of play and how it presents a new civic model of politics. Chapter 2.2 uses Catchpenny Twist to consider Parker's interest in popular culture and issues of artistic responsibility. Chapter 3 analyses how an experience of utopian performativity may be generated by performance of Kingdom Cor. and explores the play's presentation of race and cultural identity. Part three examines Parker's last three plays in terms of the past, performance, ghosts and wholeness Chapter 3.1 examines how the past is Staged in Northern Star and the effects of performing history in the theatre. Chapter 3.2 looks at how performance is staged in Heavenly 80(Res and Parker's use of ghost characters. Chapter 3.3 analyses Pentecosts heightened realist style and the sense of wholeness which the play creates experientially. It also considers how Parker's oeuvre forms a model of wholeness. The conclusion assesses how this 'research has fulfilled its stated aims and objectives, reflecting on it5 permeating themes of wholeness, the past, performance and the future.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:603421 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Thompson, Caoileann |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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