A Play a Day in May

What started out as a silly joke almost a year ago became an overly dramatic reading project for the lockdown month of May. Something appealed about spending a short amount of time each day immersed in a different theatrical world. I had been enjoying discussions of the National Theatre at Home weekly broadcasts with friends, and wanted to explore the genre in more depth, even if that meant reading a script without seeing it fully staged. Crucially, I had discovered that the University subscribes to the Drama Online site, where almost all of the plays I would read could be accessed for free.

I deliberately didn’t think too long and hard about the list I put together, beyond determining some basic principles: they had to be plays I hadn’t read before; to be a mix of some classic and some more recent works; to be by a diverse range of authors; and to include no Shakespeare… A few minutes’ sleuthing around the internet threw up some interesting-sounding suggestions, to add to others that I had always been meaning to get around to reading.

To the astonishment of no-one more than myself, 31 days later, I have read 31 plays. I had to be flexible, of course: I re-ordered my original list when delivery dates for the few books I did buy were delayed; on some days I had time to read more than one play, to compensate for the days when I couldn’t read any at all. But by the end of the month, I'd made it to the end of the list, from Lucy Prebble's well-crafted analysis of experiment and experience in The Effect to Liz Loughhead's brutal updating of Medea.

Along the way, I think I learned some general lessons for our current situation. First, that in the midst of uncertainty, it can be helpful to pick an achievable, and time-limited project. Second, that a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances is required, even within a strict plan. Third, it is not a case of all or nothing, and much can be gained from encountering something in a different form when it can’t be experienced in person.

Almost every play will remain with me, in whole or in part: a remembered phrase, a character trait, a plot twist, or a stage direction. Although I had selected and listed the plays almost at random, themes and patterns seemed to constantly emerge: contrasting pairs, frustrated ambitions, intergenerational conflicts, questions of faith and fate, science and art, violence and love.

But what to recommend? Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, for the compelling character study at its heart. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, for its claustrophobic evocation of familial tensions and aspirations. Martin Sherman’s Bent, for tragic hope and human connection in the dark. And if you’ve only seen the TV adaptation of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, then you are in for a treat.

So that was May, but what for June...?

Full list of 31 plays

(*Potentially of particular interest to Science and Literature Reading Group members!)

Date	Playwright	Play
1	Lucy Prebble	The Effect*
2	Noel Coward	Private Lives
3	Sophie Treadwell	Machinal*
4	Jessica Swale	Blue Stockings*
5	Timberlake Wertenbaker	Our Country's Good
6	Samuel Beckett	Happy Days
7	Henrik Ibsen	Hedda Gabler
8	Theresa Ikoko	Girls
9	Anton Chekhov	The Seagull
10	Yasmina Reza	'Art'
11	Lucy Kirkwood	Chimerica
12	Phoebe Waller-Bridge	Fleabag
13	Eugene O'Neill	Long Day's Journey into Night
14	Pierre de Marivaux	La dispute*
15	Pedro Calderon de la Barca	Life Is a Dream
16	Caryl Churchill	Far Away
17	Lorraine Hansberry	A Raisin in the Sun
18	August Wilson	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
19	Athol Fugard	Sizwe Bansi is Dead
20	Janice Okoh	Three Birds
21	Martin Sherman	Bent
22	Iman Qureshi	The Funeral Director
23	John Osborne	Look Back in Anger
24	Tony Kushner	Angels in America*
25	Tim Crouch	An Oak Tree
26	A. Al-Azraki	The Takeover
27	James Graham	Sketching
28	Jean Racine	Phedra
29	Aphra Behn	The Rover
30	Federico Garcia Lorca	The House of Bernada Alba
31	Liz Lochhead	Medea

Theatre at the ADC and Playroom

Lots of upcoming productions at the ADC and Corpus Playroom which will be of interest to members of the Reading Group:

• 'At Home at the Zoo', Corpus Playroom, 18-22 September
• 'The Physicists', Corpus Playroom, 9-13 October
• 'RIBS', ADC, 24-27 October  
• 'Mosquitoes', ADC, 13-17 November
• 'Photograph 51', ADC, 9-13 April

One-Day Colloquium - Theatrical Ecologies and Environments in the Nineteenth Century

Organised in conjunction with Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film

School of Theatre & Performance Studies and Cultural & Media Policy Studies
Millburn House, University of Warwick, CV4 7HS
Saturday 1 July 2017, 9am–6pm

All are warmly invited to attend this one-day colloquium on Theatrical Ecologies and Environments in the Nineteenth Century. Ecocriticism is a hot topic in both Theatre Studies and Nineteenth-Century Studies, yet the environment is still an under-examined area within nineteenth-century theatre circles. This symposium presents a series of panels and speakers addressing this topic from a wide range of perspectives.

Speakers and papers include:

• Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, 'Behind the Limelight: Theatre's Working Environment'
• Ann Featherstone, 'Sagacious Canines and Brave Brutes: Re-discovering the Victorian Dog-drama'
• Michael Gamer, 'Master Betty vs. Carlo the Wonder Dog: The Year of Child/Animal Actors'
• George Taylor, 'Stedman, Surinam and Theatrical Exoticism at the start of the Nineteenth Century'
• Cristina Fernandes Rosa, 'Nature, Ecology and Sustainability in Nineteenth-Century Ballet'
• Susan Anthony, 'Gothic Plays: Supernatural vs. Forces of Nature'
• Victoria Wiet, 'The Actress in Nature: The Environments of Artistic Development in Victorian Fiction and Life-writing'
• Katie Jarvis, 'Ecologies of Imperialism: Amazonian Waterlilies, Fairies and Inter-ecosystem Performance'
• Christina Vollmert, 'Staging Technology: The International Electrotechnical Exhibition in Frankfurt-am-Main, 1891'
• Evelyn O'Malley, '"Natural" Shakespeare in the Garden'
• Jiwon Min, 'The Melodramatic Ecology in Nineteenth-Century Theatre'
• Alexis Harley, 'Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology: the Geological Sublime and the Romantic Theatre'
• Victoria Garlick, 'The Broadhead Theatre Circuit: An Environmental Perspective'

The fee for this colloquium is £25 per person (reduced registration fee of £15 for PGRs), payable on the day. Lunches/refreshments will be provided; however, delegates are asked to arrange and cover the cost of their own travel and accommodation. Please note that the nearest train station to the campus is in Coventry. Link to registration, directions and accommodation details can be found at: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/theatre_s/staff/jim_davis/theatrical-ecologies-and-environments/. For further information about this event, please contact Patricia Smyth at P.M.Smyth@Warwick.ac.uk or Jim Davis at Jim.Davis@Warwick.ac.uk.


Theatrical Ecologies and Environments in the 19th Century

Play reading at Whipple - Isaac's Eye

 
This Wednesday at the Whipple Museum, we are hosting a free staged reading of Isaac's Eye, a play by Lucas Hnath, 17.00 - 19.00, in connection with 'Staging the History of Science', the exhibition at the Whipple Library by Julia Ostmann and Alona Bach, HPS MPhil students. The Whipple Library will be open from 16.30 - 17.00 to view the exhibition.

When young Isaac Newton meets the great Robert Hooke - the most famous and powerful scientist in Britain - the resulting battle of intellects and egos pulses with wit, humour and tension. Presented in conjunction with 'Staging the History of Science', an exhibition at the Whipple Library.

Arrive from 16.30 to visit the library exhibition.

This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd.

Free. Please arrive on time.

Recap - Ice

Our third meeting of term took to the Victorian stage and the Arctic wilderness as we discussed The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins (with significant input from one Charles Dickens). Simon and his cardboard cast gave a wonderful introduction to the play's influences (notably the 1845 Franklin expedition and the lost Erebus and Terror, the great mystery of which continued to fascinate audiences back in Britain), its writing, dramatis personae, and initially rapturous reception in 1856 (even the set's carpenters were weeping), before a failed attempt at a revival a decade later. Using clips from The Invisible Woman (a 2013 film), he reflected on the play's connections to the unconventional personal lives of both Collins and Dickens.

We went on to discuss several key themes of the play: we explored its presentation of the relationship between destiny and precognition, as epitomised in the striking visions (or 'Claravoyance') of a key character, and links to contemporary interests in spiritualism and clairvoyance (perhaps getting a bit more unfashionable by the mid-1860s?), or the drawing of lots between officers and men; we looked at the work's theatricality (for instance in its staged vision), its drama and melodrama, and how even though it is set in a larger Arctic landscape its acts present a series of three interlinked chamber pieces with quite domestic situations, and the intervening perils only alluded to through (characteristically clunky) expository monologues (with a hint of Monty Python, we thought?).

We thought about why the Artic setting might matter, or not? Was it just a conveniently fashionable location, or - with its connotations of peril, extremity, and isolation - did both supernatural phenomena seem closer to the surface, and also deeper emotions and motivations possible to access? The character of Richard Wardour, in particular, seemed key: was he, as Dickens's biographer Claire Tomalin suggested, an opportunity for Dickens to play a man who overcame his instincts to make a final great sacrifice? Was he someone with frozen emotions until galvanised by a particular situation, or hot-headed throughout? Indeed, we explored whether characters (the Dickens influence?) or plot (the Collins influence?) could be seen as the play's primary driving force.

Overall, a lively discussion and very helpful comments from all who attended: thanks to everyone! Next time we move off from the floating ice-sheets to submerge ourselves under the sea with two pieces by Rachel Carson.


Additionally:
Other songs, poems, etc., referred to in our discussion (with special thanks to the Canadians):





'The Cremation of Sam McGee' by Robert W. Service 

Simon's cardboard cast, as captured by Charissa.

Whipple Library exhibition launch today - 'Staging the History of Science'

A final reminder about the launch event today (Thursday 1 June) to celebrate the installation of 'Staging the History of Science; an exhibit in three acts' by HPS MPhil students Julia Ostmann & Alona Bach. The display is looking very good, and the launch promises to be a fun event, running from 5.30-6.45pm (approx.).

Access is via the Library's 'evening entrance' in Storey's Gate (off Pembroke Street, or go out of the back door of the Dept and turn sharp right), and a member of staff will be there to welcome you if your card is not active for the swipe door. You are welcome to turn up on spec, but if you can sign up via the following form there's a greater chance we'll have enough refreshments: https://goo.gl/forms/MxRgBFNx75Eyb30I3

With thanks and best wishes from all at the Whipple.

5th June - Ice

Our next meeting will take place on Monday 5th June at Darwin College: we will be reading The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins.  Further reading is available here, or why not listen to an extract from its Overture here?

All welcome!

Discussion - 'The Hard Problem'

Tom Stoppard and David Sloan Wilson in conversation on the Guardian website here.

Workshop - Performing Laboratories

The Cambridge Interdisciplinary Performance Network and Civic Matter Faculty Research Group are holding an afternoon workshop entitled Performing Laboratories next Monday, 19th January. The event brings together speakers from Performance Studies, Visual Arts, Medicine, History, and Anthropology and includes keynote papers from Mike Pearson and Roger Kneebone, together with a panel on laboratories in Africa.

Contributors share an interest in science and performance. From the performance of landscape in contemporary archaeological excavation and  site-specific theatre, to taking seriously the operating theatre as a performative space by re-enacting 1970s surgical practices; from the well-marketed reality-TV thrills of contemporary emerging virus science, to the quiet stage of an abandoned research station in the rainforest, and its reanimation by aged protagonists, the participants will engage in a conversation about the contact zones of science and theatre, and the possibilities and pitfalls of performance, staging and re-enactment in the history and anthropology of science.

Further details, including the schedule of events, are available here.

RUR - online

John has helpfully pointed out - for those of us who went to see Rossum's Universal Robots last night - that the full text of the play is online here. Spot the (many) differences...

Play - Rossum's Universal Robots

This week the ADC Theatre here in Cambridge is showing 'Rossum's Universal Robots' as their late show at 11pm.

"In a dark future, Old Rossum has discovered the secret of life. Now his factory manufactures artificial people. Known as 'robots', they toil to ensure that humans live a life of luxury. Once, Helena Glory sought revolution among the robots; now, married to the factory manager, she is complicit in their servitude. But she still dreams of a world where robots are no longer enslaved. And now, as discontent stirs afresh among the robot masses, there is the danger that such a dream will be realised, with devastating consequences for mankind.

First performed in 1921, R.U.R. is the play that invented the word robot. An enduring cautionary tale, it deals with the human desire to dominate and the costs of domination. This dynamic production will find innovative ways to re-tell this classic story, in order to create a new vision of a bleak alternative future."

Some of the Science and Literature Reading Group are attending the play on Thursday evening, and it would be great to see others there!

To book tickets, see here.

Play - Inherit the Wind

The Old Vic

Kevin Spacey, David Troughton , Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, Directed by Trevor Nunn

To view trailer click here For further information click here.

When science teacher Bertram Cates violates a state law he finds himself at the centre of a court case that not only shakes the United States but resonates across the world.

Considered one of the great American plays of the twentieth century Lawrence and Lee's gripping, relevant drama is inspired by the famous Scopes 'Monkey Trial'. In 1925 school teacher John Scopes stood accused of violating a Tennessee statute by teaching Darwin's theory of evolution to his students. Two legal Titans confront each other when this close knit community puts freedom of thought on trial.

A film version of the play released in 1960 starring Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelly received four Academy Award nominations. This production marks the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Darwin's 'The Origin of Species'.

'He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind:
and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart'
(Proverbs 11:29)

To watch Trevor Nunn and Kevin Spacey talking about Charles Darwin on BBC's Newsnight Review please click here

Play - Let Newton Be!

Menagerie Theatre Company's new play, Let Newton Be! will be performed this Friday, 23rd October, 7.30pm, Robinson Theatre, Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge. For further information, see here. To book tickets, see here. They say:

Isaac Newton - heretic, alchemist, scientist. A devout, difficult, obsessive man who sought and found God in universal laws of light and motion.

These brilliant discoveries and innovations were part of a greater project that took in other, more dangerous ideas which he was forced to keep secret.

Isaac Newton remains a great influence, within the scientific world. His shadow looms large, not least in Cambridge, his home and workplace for 35 years. However, he remains a mystery to many which is why a new play about Newton hits the stage this October, appealing to both specialist and general audiences alike.

Let Newton Be! brings Isaac Newton to life, using his own words and those of his contemporaries. It is a verbatim play, the script drawn entirely from correspondence to, from or about Newton. Let Newton Be! focusses on the collision between his unorthodox religious beliefs and his radical experiments with light & optics.

Craig Baxter weaves a compelling narrative showing Newton in many different lights. We see him as the young boy measuring the speed of wind. We see him as the isolated Cambridge scholar, practising alchemy in the secrecy of his darkened room. We see him as the autocrat of British Science, ruling the Royal Society with an iron fist. Above all, we see Newton as a human being - complex, comical, driven and vulnerable.

Let Newton Be! shows why Newton is as controversial as he is famous. He was an enormously difficult personality, often in dispute with ‘colleagues’ who he despised, mistrusted or undermined. However, the play aims to illuminate not to denigrate. It looks more at a man in dispute with himself who asked fundamental questions about our world. In doing so, he changed the world forever.

Written by Craig Baxter

Directed by Patrick Morris

Designed by Issam Kourbaj, Artist in Residence, Christ’s College

Performers:
Neil Jones
Paul McCleary
Caroline Rippin