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Theatre Histories

Module description

Theatre is a global phenomenon that has existed for millennia. It has deep, interconnected roots and long-standing, ever-evolving traditions. This module will introduce you to a diverse range of theatre from around the world and from different historical periods. You will explore theatre’s contextual specificity, cultural importance, social and political power, and its value as an object of study. You will learn how to think like an historian and how to practice theatre history by searching for evidence, examining sources, evaluating historical accounts, and conducting your own analysis of the theatrical past.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to:

• introduce you to a broad range of theatre from around the world and from different periods of history
• teach you about historiographical methods
• equip you with key academic skills that you will use throughout your degree

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate understanding of selected examples of theatre history from different cultural contexts
• 2. Locate different kinds of text and evidentiary sources relating to theatre history
• 3. Use evidentiary and scholarly sources to answer a historiographical research question

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Develop basic library and IT skills (in independent additional research).
• 5. Develop confidence in the ability to contribute research to small groups in effective presentations and to evaluate visual evidence (and analyse, critique and manipulate complex material).

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Develop basic personal research skills; (using personal initiative; to set personal objectives) to identify and evaluate at a basic level personal learning strategies.
• 7. Collaborate in various groups and group sizes, develop confidence in (to learn elements of) aspects of teamwork and presentation.
• 8. Develop cooperation skills, including the ability to give and receive constructive critical feedback and to develop confidence in (and improve) communication skills and simple analytic abilities in discussions.

Syllabus plan

Each week you will have a lecture and a seminar that focus on one or more theatrical traditions or on a period of theatre history. Examples may include a selection of the following: Yoruban rituals and festivals; Ancient Greek theatre festivals; Noh theatre; kutiyattam; kathakali; medieval commemorative performances; commedia dell’arte; kabuki; Elizabethan & Jacobean theatre; Latin American indigenous dance; Beijing opera; pantomime; variety theatre & music hall; melodrama; naturalism and realism; avant-garde theatre. Note: this list of examples is only indicative of potential module content.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Balme, Christopher B., ed. Commedia dell’arte in Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
• Banham, Martin, ed. A History of Theatre in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
• Drewal, Margaret Thompson. Yoruba Ritual: Performers, Play, Agency. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992.
• Fischer-Lichte, Erika. History of European Drama and Theatre, New York: Routledge, 2002.
• Nellhaus, Tobin. Theatre Histories: An Introduction, 3^rd edition, London: Routledge, 2016
• Richmond, Farley P., Darius L. Swann and Phillip B. Zarrilli, eds., Indian Theatre: Traditions of
• Performance, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1990.
• Ruru, Li. The Soul of Beijing Opera: Theatrical Creativity and Continuity in the Changing World, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2010.
• Schneider, Rebecca. Theatre & History (London: Macmillan, 2014).
• Wiles, David. Greek Theatre Performance: An Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
• Zarrilli, Phillip. Introduction to Kathakali Dance-Drama (London: Routledge, 2000).

Key words search

Theatre, performance, history, historiography