This article interrogates the relationship between feminist activism and performance through an a... more This article interrogates the relationship between feminist activism and performance through an analysis of Margaretta D’Arcy’s time in the Armagh Jail during the republican ‘no-wash’ protest in 1980 in the north of Ireland. D’Arcy, who is an Irish artist, performer and activist, mirrors the performative strategies of the women prison protestors through an engagement with second-wave feminist methodologies. D’Arcy’s embodied and literal archiving of this experience constitutes a moment of performative activism that will be examined throughout the article by drawing on D’Arcy’s perspectives and intentions by engaging with her 1981 memoir of that time, Tell Them Everything, as well as supplementary interviews and archival research.
This chapter will illustrate that since the 1990s Irish theatre and performance has experienced a... more This chapter will illustrate that since the 1990s Irish theatre and performance has experienced a movement away from the dominant tradition of literary drama and become increasingly aware of experimental and participatory forms of performance. Reflecting upon the changing performance paradigms in contemporary Irish performance since the 1950s, my analysis will consider the rise of participative and immersive theatre practice on the island of Ireland from the 1990s onwards and the connection of this emergent paradigm to the performance of memory.
In 2015, the Waking the Feminists movement (WTF) was formed as a grassroots organisation dedicate... more In 2015, the Waking the Feminists movement (WTF) was formed as a grassroots organisation dedicated to campaigning for equality for women across the Irish theatre sector. What started as a sharing of professional frustrations amongst the professional Irish theatre community quickly became a global phenomenon, garnering support from celebrities on social media (Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Gabriel Byrne, etc.); winning international recognition (the first ever international Lilly Award – an award that honours women in American theatre); and prompting a wave of sister organisations and responses to spring up across disciplines (the Equal Representation for Actresses 50:50 campaign founded in the UK; Sounding the Feminists founded for Irish musicians; a Six Point Plan on Gender Equality instituted by the Irish Film Board). In 2016, thanks to support from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaion, #WakingTheFeminists commissioned groundbreaking research into the gender balance in Irish th...
Fiona Coleman Coffey’s monograph Political Acts: Women in Northern Irish Theatre, 1921–2012 helps... more Fiona Coleman Coffey’s monograph Political Acts: Women in Northern Irish Theatre, 1921–2012 helps to address the lacuna in research on women playwrights in Ireland, focusing specifically on drama by women from the north of Ireland during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This book will be eminently useful to scholars pursuing research in Irish theatre.
Ireland is currently at the mid-point of what has been termed The Decade of Centenaries, where ci... more Ireland is currently at the mid-point of what has been termed The Decade of Centenaries, where citizens, artists, the Irish diaspora, and the tourist industry are encouraged to come together and reflect on the Ireland of one hundred years ago. The years 1912–1922 reflect some of the most significant moments in Ireland’s history, the centerpiece of which is considered to be the 1916 Easter Rising. State-led commemorations of these events have thus far been dominated by narratives around patriotism, nationalism, republicanism, and neoliberalism. There has been little to no state interest in interrogating any significant challenging of the historical events themselves, or indeed any significant exploration of any progress, changes, or diversification that may have emerged since these events. Much of the available state funding in the arts sector has been earmarked for artists to engage specifically with the commemorative schedule, thus restricting the theme of artistic output. This ess...
D 2.1: Initial plan for communication and dissemination of project results and RI access, includi... more D 2.1: Initial plan for communication and dissemination of project results and RI access, including audience/instrument mapping and communications KPIs (M6, to be updated continuously from then on until M 48).
This paper aims to explore the use of the female body as a site of commemoration in contemporary ... more This paper aims to explore the use of the female body as a site of commemoration in contemporary Irish performance practice.
This paper examines the relationship between ‘radical’ Irish performance practice and the site-ing of history on the female body in Irish contemporary immersive theatre and performance art practice. This paper interrogates this relationship using performance analysis, memory studies, and gender studies as its key frameworks.
Historically in Ireland both Church and State institutions sought to hide or obscure the abuses, oppressions, and traumas that were enacted upon the female body. In this current period of centenary commemorations and reflections, many artists, including but not limited to: ANU Productions; Amanda Coogan; Katherine Nolan; Áine Philips; and Helena Walsh, illuminate these hidden and obscured histories by using the female body as a performance site.
Using examples of immersive theatre and performance art practice, this paper interrogates how the female body can be used to communicate and commemorate these hidden histories, disrupting the more ‘well known’ and predominately male narrative of the centenary commemorations and representing these hidden female histories as part of the commemorative frame. The ‘radical’ nature of these performances, the placing of the female body as the ‘site’ of remembrance, and the close proximity and participation of the audience in these performances illuminate and comment on a ‘lack’ in our remembrance culture. This paper explores the function of audience agency and the politics of this agency in both performance forms.
This paper uses the framework of performance analysis and audience theory to interrogate how trau... more This paper uses the framework of performance analysis and audience theory to interrogate how trauma is represented in Irish immersive and site-responsive performance practice. This paper presents a genealogy of Irish performance practice in this area, highlighting companies and performances that privilege and interrogate the historiography of trauma in their work.
This paper contends that the site-ing of immersive performance in the locations of trauma (actual or representative) allows for an interrogation of memory, experience, and victimhood within this performance paradigm. I argue that within an immersive performance framework the role of the audience is an active one. This paper utilises audience theory to analyse how the role of the audience responds to the historiography of trauma and also the performance site.
By analysing representations of Irish trauma through immersive and site-responsive performance this paper illustrates how trauma can be re-sited and re-represented in performance.
This paper uses the framework of performance analysis and audience theory to interrogate how trau... more This paper uses the framework of performance analysis and audience theory to interrogate how trauma is represented post conflict in the north of Ireland. This paper privileges site-responsive and immersive performance paradigms in its investigation.
This paper presents a brief genealogy of Irish performance practice in the north of Ireland, selectively highlighting companies and performances that interrogate the trauma of the Troubles in a post-conflict era.
This paper contends that the site-ing of immersive performance in the locations of trauma (actual or representative) allows for an interrogation of memory, experience, and victimhood within this performance paradigm. I argue that within an immersive performance framework the role of the audience is an active one. This paper utilises audience theory to analyse how the role of the audience responds to the historiography of trauma and also the performance site.
By analysing representations of post-conflict trauma in the north of Ireland through immersive and site-responsive performance this paper illustrates how trauma can be re-sited and re-represented in performance.
This paper uses the framework of theatre and performance studies as well as performance analysis ... more This paper uses the framework of theatre and performance studies as well as performance analysis to interrogate the representation of Ireland’s “invisible women” in Anu Productions’ ‘Monto Cycle’.
Using the four performances in the Monto Cycle, World’s End Lane, Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street and Vardo, this paper interrogates how ANU represent gender, and the role of women in these four productions. ANU Productions created these four productions in Dublin’s historical ‘Monto’ area. By drawing on the history of this area in its performances, and situating the performances in the actual site, Anu immerse their audience in the history of the area. My paper focuses on analysing the role of women represented in each production and will analyse how the given history of the area influences this representation. These productions use an immersive and site-responsive framework which challenge the boundaries of traditional theatre practices. As such, the lack of the traditional theatre building, and the traditional cast of characters, creates a dual sense of reality and representation in the performance space. By layering, for example, a performance based on life inside of a Magdalene laundry, in the actual building of one, ANU create a unique response to site and thus challenge the politics of the female body and the politics of theatre through the performance framework.
By analysing ANU’s representation of women in the ‘Monto Cycle’, this paper illustrates how this mode of immersive and site-responsive theatre allows Ireland’s “invisible women” to become visible.
This paper will use the framework of theatre and performance studies as well as performance analy... more This paper will use the framework of theatre and performance studies as well as performance analysis to interrogate the role of audience and site in ANU Productions’ "Monto Cycle"
Using the four performances in the "Monto Cycle", World’s End Lane, Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street and Vardo, this paper will interrogate how the audience responds to the history of the theatrical site. ANU Productions created these four productions in Dublin’s historical ‘Monto’ area. By drawing on the history of this area in its performances, and situating the performances in the actual site, ANU immerse their audience in the history of the area. My paper will focus on the role of the audience in the created theatrical environment of each production and will analyse how the given history of the area influences the audience’s behaviour. These productions use an immersive and site-responsive framework that challenges the boundaries of traditional theatre practices. As such, the lack of the traditional theatre building, and the traditional cast of characters, creates a space in the performance for an active audience member. How much the spectator chooses to engage with the piece is dependant on their response to the site.
By analysing the role of the active audience member, through the interrogation of his or her movement through the site-responsive spaces of these performances, I will illustrate the link between the politics of the site and the actions of the audience.
This presentation interrogates the function of queerness in Frank McGuinness’s play Carthaginians... more This presentation interrogates the function of queerness in Frank McGuinness’s play Carthaginians in terms of class, politics, religion and the representation of the ideal national subject. It seeks to draw similarities between the typical ‘queerness’ of the homosexual character Dido and the ‘queering’ of the Catholic’s waiting for their dead to rise in the wake of Bloody Sunday.
This presentation seeks to prove that through the juxtaposition of the Roman/Carthaginian relationship Dido’s presence as a the queer, male queen of Carthage undermines the traditional representation of Mother Ireland, and in turn represents the characters and their class as queer in this play. In this text to be Carthaginian, that is; feminine, Catholic and victim, is to be other.
A large emphasis is placed on representations of femininity and masculinity in this text and as such, Judith Butler and Brian Singleton’s theories on gender will be useful in determining the extent of these representations. In terms of play and ritual, Schechner’s ideologies, will help to frame this argument and to ground the notion of the action of the text in terms of play. The colonial angle of this piece speaks for itself but this presentation will also present arguments from Butler-Cullingford and Tony Corbett as to how the Roman/Carthaginian, Protestant/Catholic, British/Irish couplings work within the text and how this relates back to the queer/other representations of the characters.
This presentation seeks to promote the idea that through the queering of the Catholic, victimised characters onstage, McGuinness elevates them by making them other and builds the framework for representing a new national ideal through the use of a Queer character. It also aims to illustrate that to be queer doesn’t necessarily mean to be homosexual, that in the murky realm of Irish national, cultural and religious identity, you can be queer in many ways.
This dissertation analyses the relationship between moments of significant social change on the i... more This dissertation analyses the relationship between moments of significant social change on the island of Ireland and performance practice between 1972-2014. Through investigating the Troubles, Second-Wave Feminism, and the Celtic Tiger primarily, this dissertation argues that key moments of social change on the island of Ireland are captured by a diversification of performance form, which fundamentally rewrites the role of the audience. The investigation charts how moments of social change influence a diversification of performance form such as the proliferation of performance art in the 1970s, collaborative woman-led performance in the 1980s, devised theatre in the 1990s, and immersive performance in the 2010s. The central claims of this dissertation are that (1) diverse performance paradigms emerged adjacent to the more established modern literary theatre to focus on marginalised experiences, illuminating the realities of everyday life for those who experienced violence, oppression, and trauma, and (2) that the relationship between the audience and the performance has changed significantly in Irish theatre in recent decades. Consequentially, this dissertation demonstrates a tangible link between shifting paradigms in performance practice and social change on the island of Ireland. The methodological approach is principally led through the lens of theatre and performance studies, cultural studies, and feminisms. Major critical frameworks that are essential to the analysis include postmodernism, audience reception theory, and feminism. These methodologies and frameworks are fundamental to this research as they provide clear parameters for the analysis of social change and performance practice on the island of Ireland since 1972. This research contributes to established knowledge within the field by proposing new insights and perspectives on performance practice on the island of Ireland. It focuses on radical theatre and performance practice which lies outside of the dominant literary canon and the single-authored text model. This dissertation presents an all-island study of theatre and performance paradigms through a forty-year period, illuminating the relationships between theatre and performance practice on both sides of the Irish border. It also presents a multi-paradigm study that analyses the links in performance lineage across political borders to investigate the connections between Live Art and performance art practices and contemporary Irish theatre practice. Through this study, the research demonstrates how the landscape of theatre and performance practice has altered considerably since 1972. This analysis of the proliferation of radical performance practice fundamentally observes how the role of the audience has developed and diversified to occur as part of a wide spectrum of participation, and one that is significantly distinct from the traditionally established role of the audience in twentieth century Irish theatre.
This article interrogates the relationship between feminist activism and performance through an a... more This article interrogates the relationship between feminist activism and performance through an analysis of Margaretta D’Arcy’s time in the Armagh Jail during the republican ‘no-wash’ protest in 1980 in the north of Ireland. D’Arcy, who is an Irish artist, performer and activist, mirrors the performative strategies of the women prison protestors through an engagement with second-wave feminist methodologies. D’Arcy’s embodied and literal archiving of this experience constitutes a moment of performative activism that will be examined throughout the article by drawing on D’Arcy’s perspectives and intentions by engaging with her 1981 memoir of that time, Tell Them Everything, as well as supplementary interviews and archival research.
This chapter will illustrate that since the 1990s Irish theatre and performance has experienced a... more This chapter will illustrate that since the 1990s Irish theatre and performance has experienced a movement away from the dominant tradition of literary drama and become increasingly aware of experimental and participatory forms of performance. Reflecting upon the changing performance paradigms in contemporary Irish performance since the 1950s, my analysis will consider the rise of participative and immersive theatre practice on the island of Ireland from the 1990s onwards and the connection of this emergent paradigm to the performance of memory.
In 2015, the Waking the Feminists movement (WTF) was formed as a grassroots organisation dedicate... more In 2015, the Waking the Feminists movement (WTF) was formed as a grassroots organisation dedicated to campaigning for equality for women across the Irish theatre sector. What started as a sharing of professional frustrations amongst the professional Irish theatre community quickly became a global phenomenon, garnering support from celebrities on social media (Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Gabriel Byrne, etc.); winning international recognition (the first ever international Lilly Award – an award that honours women in American theatre); and prompting a wave of sister organisations and responses to spring up across disciplines (the Equal Representation for Actresses 50:50 campaign founded in the UK; Sounding the Feminists founded for Irish musicians; a Six Point Plan on Gender Equality instituted by the Irish Film Board). In 2016, thanks to support from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaion, #WakingTheFeminists commissioned groundbreaking research into the gender balance in Irish th...
Fiona Coleman Coffey’s monograph Political Acts: Women in Northern Irish Theatre, 1921–2012 helps... more Fiona Coleman Coffey’s monograph Political Acts: Women in Northern Irish Theatre, 1921–2012 helps to address the lacuna in research on women playwrights in Ireland, focusing specifically on drama by women from the north of Ireland during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This book will be eminently useful to scholars pursuing research in Irish theatre.
Ireland is currently at the mid-point of what has been termed The Decade of Centenaries, where ci... more Ireland is currently at the mid-point of what has been termed The Decade of Centenaries, where citizens, artists, the Irish diaspora, and the tourist industry are encouraged to come together and reflect on the Ireland of one hundred years ago. The years 1912–1922 reflect some of the most significant moments in Ireland’s history, the centerpiece of which is considered to be the 1916 Easter Rising. State-led commemorations of these events have thus far been dominated by narratives around patriotism, nationalism, republicanism, and neoliberalism. There has been little to no state interest in interrogating any significant challenging of the historical events themselves, or indeed any significant exploration of any progress, changes, or diversification that may have emerged since these events. Much of the available state funding in the arts sector has been earmarked for artists to engage specifically with the commemorative schedule, thus restricting the theme of artistic output. This ess...
D 2.1: Initial plan for communication and dissemination of project results and RI access, includi... more D 2.1: Initial plan for communication and dissemination of project results and RI access, including audience/instrument mapping and communications KPIs (M6, to be updated continuously from then on until M 48).
This paper aims to explore the use of the female body as a site of commemoration in contemporary ... more This paper aims to explore the use of the female body as a site of commemoration in contemporary Irish performance practice.
This paper examines the relationship between ‘radical’ Irish performance practice and the site-ing of history on the female body in Irish contemporary immersive theatre and performance art practice. This paper interrogates this relationship using performance analysis, memory studies, and gender studies as its key frameworks.
Historically in Ireland both Church and State institutions sought to hide or obscure the abuses, oppressions, and traumas that were enacted upon the female body. In this current period of centenary commemorations and reflections, many artists, including but not limited to: ANU Productions; Amanda Coogan; Katherine Nolan; Áine Philips; and Helena Walsh, illuminate these hidden and obscured histories by using the female body as a performance site.
Using examples of immersive theatre and performance art practice, this paper interrogates how the female body can be used to communicate and commemorate these hidden histories, disrupting the more ‘well known’ and predominately male narrative of the centenary commemorations and representing these hidden female histories as part of the commemorative frame. The ‘radical’ nature of these performances, the placing of the female body as the ‘site’ of remembrance, and the close proximity and participation of the audience in these performances illuminate and comment on a ‘lack’ in our remembrance culture. This paper explores the function of audience agency and the politics of this agency in both performance forms.
This paper uses the framework of performance analysis and audience theory to interrogate how trau... more This paper uses the framework of performance analysis and audience theory to interrogate how trauma is represented in Irish immersive and site-responsive performance practice. This paper presents a genealogy of Irish performance practice in this area, highlighting companies and performances that privilege and interrogate the historiography of trauma in their work.
This paper contends that the site-ing of immersive performance in the locations of trauma (actual or representative) allows for an interrogation of memory, experience, and victimhood within this performance paradigm. I argue that within an immersive performance framework the role of the audience is an active one. This paper utilises audience theory to analyse how the role of the audience responds to the historiography of trauma and also the performance site.
By analysing representations of Irish trauma through immersive and site-responsive performance this paper illustrates how trauma can be re-sited and re-represented in performance.
This paper uses the framework of performance analysis and audience theory to interrogate how trau... more This paper uses the framework of performance analysis and audience theory to interrogate how trauma is represented post conflict in the north of Ireland. This paper privileges site-responsive and immersive performance paradigms in its investigation.
This paper presents a brief genealogy of Irish performance practice in the north of Ireland, selectively highlighting companies and performances that interrogate the trauma of the Troubles in a post-conflict era.
This paper contends that the site-ing of immersive performance in the locations of trauma (actual or representative) allows for an interrogation of memory, experience, and victimhood within this performance paradigm. I argue that within an immersive performance framework the role of the audience is an active one. This paper utilises audience theory to analyse how the role of the audience responds to the historiography of trauma and also the performance site.
By analysing representations of post-conflict trauma in the north of Ireland through immersive and site-responsive performance this paper illustrates how trauma can be re-sited and re-represented in performance.
This paper uses the framework of theatre and performance studies as well as performance analysis ... more This paper uses the framework of theatre and performance studies as well as performance analysis to interrogate the representation of Ireland’s “invisible women” in Anu Productions’ ‘Monto Cycle’.
Using the four performances in the Monto Cycle, World’s End Lane, Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street and Vardo, this paper interrogates how ANU represent gender, and the role of women in these four productions. ANU Productions created these four productions in Dublin’s historical ‘Monto’ area. By drawing on the history of this area in its performances, and situating the performances in the actual site, Anu immerse their audience in the history of the area. My paper focuses on analysing the role of women represented in each production and will analyse how the given history of the area influences this representation. These productions use an immersive and site-responsive framework which challenge the boundaries of traditional theatre practices. As such, the lack of the traditional theatre building, and the traditional cast of characters, creates a dual sense of reality and representation in the performance space. By layering, for example, a performance based on life inside of a Magdalene laundry, in the actual building of one, ANU create a unique response to site and thus challenge the politics of the female body and the politics of theatre through the performance framework.
By analysing ANU’s representation of women in the ‘Monto Cycle’, this paper illustrates how this mode of immersive and site-responsive theatre allows Ireland’s “invisible women” to become visible.
This paper will use the framework of theatre and performance studies as well as performance analy... more This paper will use the framework of theatre and performance studies as well as performance analysis to interrogate the role of audience and site in ANU Productions’ "Monto Cycle"
Using the four performances in the "Monto Cycle", World’s End Lane, Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street and Vardo, this paper will interrogate how the audience responds to the history of the theatrical site. ANU Productions created these four productions in Dublin’s historical ‘Monto’ area. By drawing on the history of this area in its performances, and situating the performances in the actual site, ANU immerse their audience in the history of the area. My paper will focus on the role of the audience in the created theatrical environment of each production and will analyse how the given history of the area influences the audience’s behaviour. These productions use an immersive and site-responsive framework that challenges the boundaries of traditional theatre practices. As such, the lack of the traditional theatre building, and the traditional cast of characters, creates a space in the performance for an active audience member. How much the spectator chooses to engage with the piece is dependant on their response to the site.
By analysing the role of the active audience member, through the interrogation of his or her movement through the site-responsive spaces of these performances, I will illustrate the link between the politics of the site and the actions of the audience.
This presentation interrogates the function of queerness in Frank McGuinness’s play Carthaginians... more This presentation interrogates the function of queerness in Frank McGuinness’s play Carthaginians in terms of class, politics, religion and the representation of the ideal national subject. It seeks to draw similarities between the typical ‘queerness’ of the homosexual character Dido and the ‘queering’ of the Catholic’s waiting for their dead to rise in the wake of Bloody Sunday.
This presentation seeks to prove that through the juxtaposition of the Roman/Carthaginian relationship Dido’s presence as a the queer, male queen of Carthage undermines the traditional representation of Mother Ireland, and in turn represents the characters and their class as queer in this play. In this text to be Carthaginian, that is; feminine, Catholic and victim, is to be other.
A large emphasis is placed on representations of femininity and masculinity in this text and as such, Judith Butler and Brian Singleton’s theories on gender will be useful in determining the extent of these representations. In terms of play and ritual, Schechner’s ideologies, will help to frame this argument and to ground the notion of the action of the text in terms of play. The colonial angle of this piece speaks for itself but this presentation will also present arguments from Butler-Cullingford and Tony Corbett as to how the Roman/Carthaginian, Protestant/Catholic, British/Irish couplings work within the text and how this relates back to the queer/other representations of the characters.
This presentation seeks to promote the idea that through the queering of the Catholic, victimised characters onstage, McGuinness elevates them by making them other and builds the framework for representing a new national ideal through the use of a Queer character. It also aims to illustrate that to be queer doesn’t necessarily mean to be homosexual, that in the murky realm of Irish national, cultural and religious identity, you can be queer in many ways.
This dissertation analyses the relationship between moments of significant social change on the i... more This dissertation analyses the relationship between moments of significant social change on the island of Ireland and performance practice between 1972-2014. Through investigating the Troubles, Second-Wave Feminism, and the Celtic Tiger primarily, this dissertation argues that key moments of social change on the island of Ireland are captured by a diversification of performance form, which fundamentally rewrites the role of the audience. The investigation charts how moments of social change influence a diversification of performance form such as the proliferation of performance art in the 1970s, collaborative woman-led performance in the 1980s, devised theatre in the 1990s, and immersive performance in the 2010s. The central claims of this dissertation are that (1) diverse performance paradigms emerged adjacent to the more established modern literary theatre to focus on marginalised experiences, illuminating the realities of everyday life for those who experienced violence, oppression, and trauma, and (2) that the relationship between the audience and the performance has changed significantly in Irish theatre in recent decades. Consequentially, this dissertation demonstrates a tangible link between shifting paradigms in performance practice and social change on the island of Ireland. The methodological approach is principally led through the lens of theatre and performance studies, cultural studies, and feminisms. Major critical frameworks that are essential to the analysis include postmodernism, audience reception theory, and feminism. These methodologies and frameworks are fundamental to this research as they provide clear parameters for the analysis of social change and performance practice on the island of Ireland since 1972. This research contributes to established knowledge within the field by proposing new insights and perspectives on performance practice on the island of Ireland. It focuses on radical theatre and performance practice which lies outside of the dominant literary canon and the single-authored text model. This dissertation presents an all-island study of theatre and performance paradigms through a forty-year period, illuminating the relationships between theatre and performance practice on both sides of the Irish border. It also presents a multi-paradigm study that analyses the links in performance lineage across political borders to investigate the connections between Live Art and performance art practices and contemporary Irish theatre practice. Through this study, the research demonstrates how the landscape of theatre and performance practice has altered considerably since 1972. This analysis of the proliferation of radical performance practice fundamentally observes how the role of the audience has developed and diversified to occur as part of a wide spectrum of participation, and one that is significantly distinct from the traditionally established role of the audience in twentieth century Irish theatre.
Uploads
Papers by Ciara L Murphy
This paper examines the relationship between ‘radical’ Irish performance practice and the site-ing of history on the female body in Irish contemporary immersive theatre and performance art practice. This paper interrogates this relationship using performance analysis, memory studies, and gender studies as its key frameworks.
Historically in Ireland both Church and State institutions sought to hide or obscure the abuses, oppressions, and traumas that were enacted upon the female body. In this current period of centenary commemorations and reflections, many artists, including but not limited to: ANU Productions; Amanda Coogan; Katherine Nolan; Áine Philips; and Helena Walsh, illuminate these hidden and obscured histories by using the female body as a performance site.
Using examples of immersive theatre and performance art practice, this paper interrogates how the female body can be used to communicate and commemorate these hidden histories, disrupting the more ‘well known’ and predominately male narrative of the centenary commemorations and representing these hidden female histories as part of the commemorative frame. The ‘radical’ nature of these performances, the placing of the female body as the ‘site’ of remembrance, and the close proximity and participation of the audience in these performances illuminate and comment on a ‘lack’ in our remembrance culture. This paper explores the function of audience agency and the politics of this agency in both performance forms.
This paper presents a genealogy of Irish performance practice in this area, highlighting companies and performances that privilege and interrogate the historiography of trauma in their work.
This paper contends that the site-ing of immersive performance in the locations of trauma (actual or representative) allows for an interrogation of memory, experience, and victimhood within this performance paradigm. I argue that within an immersive performance framework the role of the audience is an active one. This paper utilises audience theory to analyse how the role of the audience responds to the historiography of trauma and also the performance site.
By analysing representations of Irish trauma through immersive and site-responsive performance this paper illustrates how trauma can be re-sited and re-represented in performance.
This paper presents a brief genealogy of Irish performance practice in the north of Ireland, selectively highlighting companies and performances that interrogate the trauma of the Troubles in a post-conflict era.
This paper contends that the site-ing of immersive performance in the locations of trauma (actual or representative) allows for an interrogation of memory, experience, and victimhood within this performance paradigm. I argue that within an immersive performance framework the role of the audience is an active one. This paper utilises audience theory to analyse how the role of the audience responds to the historiography of trauma and also the performance site.
By analysing representations of post-conflict trauma in the north of Ireland through immersive and site-responsive performance this paper illustrates how trauma can be re-sited and re-represented in performance.
Using the four performances in the Monto Cycle, World’s End Lane, Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street and Vardo, this paper interrogates how ANU represent gender, and the role of women in these four productions. ANU Productions created these four productions in Dublin’s historical ‘Monto’ area. By drawing on the history of this area in its performances, and situating the performances in the actual site, Anu immerse their audience in the history of the area. My paper focuses on analysing the role of women represented in each production and will analyse how the given history of the area influences this representation. These productions use an immersive and site-responsive framework which challenge the boundaries of traditional theatre practices. As such, the lack of the traditional theatre building, and the traditional cast of characters, creates a dual sense of reality and representation in the performance space. By layering, for example, a performance based on life inside of a Magdalene laundry, in the actual building of one, ANU create a unique response to site and thus challenge the politics of the female body and the politics of theatre through the performance framework.
By analysing ANU’s representation of women in the ‘Monto Cycle’, this paper illustrates how this mode of immersive and site-responsive theatre allows Ireland’s “invisible women” to become visible.
Using the four performances in the "Monto Cycle", World’s End Lane, Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street and Vardo, this paper will interrogate how the audience responds to the history of the theatrical site. ANU Productions created these four productions in Dublin’s historical ‘Monto’ area. By drawing on the history of this area in its performances, and situating the performances in the actual site, ANU immerse their audience in the history of the area. My paper will focus on the role of the audience in the created theatrical environment of each production and will analyse how the given history of the area influences the audience’s behaviour. These productions use an immersive and site-responsive framework that challenges the boundaries of traditional theatre practices. As such, the lack of the traditional theatre building, and the traditional cast of characters, creates a space in the performance for an active audience member. How much the spectator chooses to engage with the piece is dependant on their response to the site.
By analysing the role of the active audience member, through the interrogation of his or her movement through the site-responsive spaces of these performances, I will illustrate the link between the politics of the site and the actions of the audience.
This presentation seeks to prove that through the juxtaposition of the Roman/Carthaginian relationship Dido’s presence as a the queer, male queen of Carthage undermines the traditional representation of Mother Ireland, and in turn represents the characters and their class as queer in this play. In this text to be Carthaginian, that is; feminine, Catholic and victim, is to be other.
A large emphasis is placed on representations of femininity and masculinity in this text and as such, Judith Butler and Brian Singleton’s theories on gender will be useful in determining the extent of these representations. In terms of play and ritual, Schechner’s ideologies, will help to frame this argument and to ground the notion of the action of the text in terms of play. The colonial angle of this piece speaks for itself but this presentation will also present arguments from Butler-Cullingford and Tony Corbett as to how the Roman/Carthaginian, Protestant/Catholic, British/Irish couplings work within the text and how this relates back to the queer/other representations of the characters.
This presentation seeks to promote the idea that through the queering of the Catholic, victimised characters onstage, McGuinness elevates them by making them other and builds the framework for representing a new national ideal through the use of a Queer character. It also aims to illustrate that to be queer doesn’t necessarily mean to be homosexual, that in the murky realm of Irish national, cultural and religious identity, you can be queer in many ways.
Thesis Chapters by Ciara L Murphy
This paper examines the relationship between ‘radical’ Irish performance practice and the site-ing of history on the female body in Irish contemporary immersive theatre and performance art practice. This paper interrogates this relationship using performance analysis, memory studies, and gender studies as its key frameworks.
Historically in Ireland both Church and State institutions sought to hide or obscure the abuses, oppressions, and traumas that were enacted upon the female body. In this current period of centenary commemorations and reflections, many artists, including but not limited to: ANU Productions; Amanda Coogan; Katherine Nolan; Áine Philips; and Helena Walsh, illuminate these hidden and obscured histories by using the female body as a performance site.
Using examples of immersive theatre and performance art practice, this paper interrogates how the female body can be used to communicate and commemorate these hidden histories, disrupting the more ‘well known’ and predominately male narrative of the centenary commemorations and representing these hidden female histories as part of the commemorative frame. The ‘radical’ nature of these performances, the placing of the female body as the ‘site’ of remembrance, and the close proximity and participation of the audience in these performances illuminate and comment on a ‘lack’ in our remembrance culture. This paper explores the function of audience agency and the politics of this agency in both performance forms.
This paper presents a genealogy of Irish performance practice in this area, highlighting companies and performances that privilege and interrogate the historiography of trauma in their work.
This paper contends that the site-ing of immersive performance in the locations of trauma (actual or representative) allows for an interrogation of memory, experience, and victimhood within this performance paradigm. I argue that within an immersive performance framework the role of the audience is an active one. This paper utilises audience theory to analyse how the role of the audience responds to the historiography of trauma and also the performance site.
By analysing representations of Irish trauma through immersive and site-responsive performance this paper illustrates how trauma can be re-sited and re-represented in performance.
This paper presents a brief genealogy of Irish performance practice in the north of Ireland, selectively highlighting companies and performances that interrogate the trauma of the Troubles in a post-conflict era.
This paper contends that the site-ing of immersive performance in the locations of trauma (actual or representative) allows for an interrogation of memory, experience, and victimhood within this performance paradigm. I argue that within an immersive performance framework the role of the audience is an active one. This paper utilises audience theory to analyse how the role of the audience responds to the historiography of trauma and also the performance site.
By analysing representations of post-conflict trauma in the north of Ireland through immersive and site-responsive performance this paper illustrates how trauma can be re-sited and re-represented in performance.
Using the four performances in the Monto Cycle, World’s End Lane, Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street and Vardo, this paper interrogates how ANU represent gender, and the role of women in these four productions. ANU Productions created these four productions in Dublin’s historical ‘Monto’ area. By drawing on the history of this area in its performances, and situating the performances in the actual site, Anu immerse their audience in the history of the area. My paper focuses on analysing the role of women represented in each production and will analyse how the given history of the area influences this representation. These productions use an immersive and site-responsive framework which challenge the boundaries of traditional theatre practices. As such, the lack of the traditional theatre building, and the traditional cast of characters, creates a dual sense of reality and representation in the performance space. By layering, for example, a performance based on life inside of a Magdalene laundry, in the actual building of one, ANU create a unique response to site and thus challenge the politics of the female body and the politics of theatre through the performance framework.
By analysing ANU’s representation of women in the ‘Monto Cycle’, this paper illustrates how this mode of immersive and site-responsive theatre allows Ireland’s “invisible women” to become visible.
Using the four performances in the "Monto Cycle", World’s End Lane, Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street and Vardo, this paper will interrogate how the audience responds to the history of the theatrical site. ANU Productions created these four productions in Dublin’s historical ‘Monto’ area. By drawing on the history of this area in its performances, and situating the performances in the actual site, ANU immerse their audience in the history of the area. My paper will focus on the role of the audience in the created theatrical environment of each production and will analyse how the given history of the area influences the audience’s behaviour. These productions use an immersive and site-responsive framework that challenges the boundaries of traditional theatre practices. As such, the lack of the traditional theatre building, and the traditional cast of characters, creates a space in the performance for an active audience member. How much the spectator chooses to engage with the piece is dependant on their response to the site.
By analysing the role of the active audience member, through the interrogation of his or her movement through the site-responsive spaces of these performances, I will illustrate the link between the politics of the site and the actions of the audience.
This presentation seeks to prove that through the juxtaposition of the Roman/Carthaginian relationship Dido’s presence as a the queer, male queen of Carthage undermines the traditional representation of Mother Ireland, and in turn represents the characters and their class as queer in this play. In this text to be Carthaginian, that is; feminine, Catholic and victim, is to be other.
A large emphasis is placed on representations of femininity and masculinity in this text and as such, Judith Butler and Brian Singleton’s theories on gender will be useful in determining the extent of these representations. In terms of play and ritual, Schechner’s ideologies, will help to frame this argument and to ground the notion of the action of the text in terms of play. The colonial angle of this piece speaks for itself but this presentation will also present arguments from Butler-Cullingford and Tony Corbett as to how the Roman/Carthaginian, Protestant/Catholic, British/Irish couplings work within the text and how this relates back to the queer/other representations of the characters.
This presentation seeks to promote the idea that through the queering of the Catholic, victimised characters onstage, McGuinness elevates them by making them other and builds the framework for representing a new national ideal through the use of a Queer character. It also aims to illustrate that to be queer doesn’t necessarily mean to be homosexual, that in the murky realm of Irish national, cultural and religious identity, you can be queer in many ways.