Chemnitz University of Technology Anglistische Literaturwissenschaft/ English Literature(s) Department   English Literature(s)     WS 01/02     Fine Young Cannibals

Mission Statement

News

Current Semester

Staff

For Students

Archive

Links

Fine Young Cannibals:  Drama and Violence Choose LinkLinks Course Description   In the mid-1990s a new posse of young  playwrights from Britain and Ireland burst on to the  theatre scene with plays that were clearly designed  to shock their audiences by Quentin Tarantino-style  actionism and the explicit portrayal of violence, cannibalism,  sodomy, and any kind of perversity. Literary critics and historians have meanwhile begun to identify this new trend as the third wave of the New British Drama and have pointed out its affinities with Jacobean revenge  tragedies of the early seventeenth century. Assuming that the violence and aggression  in these plays is more than simply coincidental or collateral,  we will have to subject these plays to some serious cross-examining: What are the motives behind such an aesthetics of violence and its mediation through drama?  In how far does such ‘cool’ dramaturgy reflect the values of contemporary society? Are these plays then a reflection  of/on the much vaunted socio-politics of ‘Cool Britannia’ (UK) or the ‘Green Tiger’ (Ireland)? The following plays and playwrights  (that have also made their mark on the German stage)  will be on the agenda: Sarah Kane, Blasted (1995), Mark Ravenhill, Shopping and F***ing (1996), Enda Walsh, Disco Pigs (1996), Mark O’Rowe, Howie the Rookie (1999), Martin McDonagh, The Lieutenant  of Inishmore (2001). Recommended reading: Die Londoner Theaterszene  der 90er (1998). Ed. Nils Tabert. Reinbek bei Hamburg:  Rowohlt. Links:   Link   Description   Rating   Posted by               General Links                       IN-YER-FACE-THE ATRE     Information  on plays, playwrights, general background etc. The page is in a way scaled-down version  of the book by Aleks Sierz, but it is updated quite regularly. Thus, it may be considered  the best page concerning this seminar.   Content: 5 Layout: 5 Speed: 5   P               The English Server Drama  Collection     An e-text base containing contemporary and  classical drama; hosts a number of plays  as plain text (online) as well as some criticism.   Content: 5 Layout: 4 Speed: 5   P               Theatre  in Crisis     Recommendable  article on the influence of "Cool Britannia"  on British theatre in UK.   Content: 5 Layout: 4 Speed: 4   P               The  Royal Court Theatre     Official homepage of the RCT. The most interesting  aspect might be the archive of reviews of  all past and current productions.   Content: 4 Layout: 5 Speed: 4   WH               BBC  Online     Reviews  of plays running in Great Britain.   Content: 4 Layout: 5 Speed: 4   P               About  British Theatre     Holds  a number of biographies, reviews and general  articles about British Theatre. However,  it attempts to be more an overview than  a database specializing on contemporary theatre only.   Content: 4 Layout: 4 Speed: 4   P               Turns  of Phrase     Nice article on the etymology of “Cool Britannia”   Content: 4 Layout: 3 Speed: 4   P               Cool Britannia     A  short note by the renowned Heise.de on the topic of nations as brand-names.   Content: 5 Layout: 4 Speed: 4   P               The  Celtic Tiger: Ireland's New Economy     Extensive  information on this topic.   Content: 5 Layout: 4 Speed: 4   P               CDE-Bibliographies     This page offers a huge collection of bibliographies and links for a number of individual dramatists.   Content: 5 Layout: 3 Speed: 5   WH               CDE  Theatre and Drama Links     Annotated  collection of links to pages on theatre  and drama.   Content: 5 Layout: 3 Speed: 5   WH               Art and Culture     Mainly biographies of, and links to, playwrights  (mostly modern ones).   Content: 4 Layout: 4 Speed: 4   P               Open Directory     A  categorized and annotated list of links.   Content: 4 Layout: 3 Speed: 4   P               The  Stage Theatre News Reviews and Auditions     Online version of the magazine of the same name; the page has reviews, some biographical information etc.   Content: 4 Layout: 3 Speed: 4   P               Curtain Up     Mainly reviews of plays currently running in New York and London   Content: 3 Layout: 3 Speed: 4   P               Plays/Playwrights                       Guardian Unlimited     Sarah  Kane: an obituary.   Content: 4 Layout: 3 Speed: 4   P               Drama: Martin McDonagh     A  rather short biography of the man.   Content: 3 Layout: 3 Speed: 4   P               Guardian Unlimited     Quite detailed review of "The Lieutenant of Inishmore".   Content: 4 Layout: 3 Speed: 4   P               BBC  Online     Review of the film version of "Disco Pigs".   Content: 3 Layout: 4 Speed: 4   P               The  Irish Times     Review of the film adaptation of "Disco Pigs".   Content: 4 Layout: 3 Speed: 3   P               Disco  Pigs     Official homepage of the film adaptation of "Disco  Pigs".   Content: 4 Layout: 5 Speed: 4   P

Webmaster	Copyright © 2002 by TU Chemnitz	Last Update: January 2006