British political theatre and the Gothic mode, 2000-2022

Williams, Gheorghe (2024). British political theatre and the Gothic mode, 2000-2022. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis proposes that Gothic dramaturgy has emerged as a potent and timely mode of political address in the first decades of the twenty-first century. Developing and exploring a Gothic model of political dramaturgy, this study builds upon recent waves of scholarly interest in Gothic/Horror performance cultures, and presents the first full-length critical examination of where the Gothic has met with the political on British stages since the turn of the millennium. Through analysis of selected dramatic works from a range of contemporary British playwrights, including Caryl Churchill, Winsome Pinnock, Stef Smith, Travis Alabanza, Bryony Lavery, Dennis Kelly and more, the chapters of the thesis demonstrate how Gothic dramaturgy at once illuminates forms of agency available to contemporary social subjects, and identifies the myriad ways that agency is threatened in a post-millennial era of perpetual “crisis” (Angelaki, 2017). Taking a thematic approach, the thesis illustrates that Gothic political drama is capable of offering powerful interventions in a variety of sociocultural discourses. Chapters focus on the ecocritical applications of ‘Ecogothic Drama’; the anti-patriarchal operations of ‘Queer Gothic’ and ‘Post/Feminist Gothic’ dramaturgies; and the fraught, but also politically potent relationship of Gothic dramaturgy and the NeoColonial. In doing so, this thesis offers a series of vital new perspectives on the urgent political and cultural roles of a theatrical form which, until recent years, has received startlingly slight critical attention.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):