A New Model for a New Nation: The National Theatre of Scotland
Dr. Trish Reid
Tuesday 21st April
Room C118, 18:30
The most significant event in Scottish theatre in the last twenty years has undoubtedly been the establishment of the National Theatre of Scotland. The precise circumstances that led to the new company being constituted in its innovative virtual and ‘buildingless’ form will be discussed in this paper as will its legendary first season, which included Home, Grid Iron’s Roam, Anthony Neilson’s Realism and, most famously Gregory Burke’s Black Watch.
The international success of John Tiffany’s production of Burke’s play will be given particular attention because it raises interesting questions about the performance of contemporary Scottish identity at home and abroad, particularly in relation to the persistence of a number of long established stereotypes. The success of large scale productions, such as Black Watch (2006), The Bacchae (2008), Dunsinane (2010) and Rona Munro’s James Plays (2014) will be contrasted, throughout with the inclusive agenda of the company in its work elsewhere, both in the extensive opportunities it has offered female theatre practitioners, its geographical inclusiveness and in the large number of small scale and site specific projects it has produced.
Dr Trish Reid is Director of Learning and Teaching in the School of Performance and Screen Studies at Kingston University. Her current research interests are primarily in contemporary Scottish theatre. In particular, the ways in which contemporary Scottish identities are constituted through performance, especially class and gender identities, She is currently one of two Theatre Section editors for the International Journal of Scottish Theatre and Film. She also have an interest in the popular nineteenth-century stage, especially melodrama. Her publications include Theatre & Scotland (Palgrave, 2013).
This event is FREE
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