A comparative study of the manipulation of narrative temporality in film and stage plays and an examination of how these temporal manipulations affect the perceptions and comprehension of the audience.

Garvey-Welch, Julie A. (2025). A comparative study of the manipulation of narrative temporality in film and stage plays and an examination of how these temporal manipulations affect the perceptions and comprehension of the audience. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The critical element of this thesis offers a comparative analysis that examines issues relating to the manipulation of narrative temporality in film and stage plays. It considers the extent to which these temporal manipulations affect the perception and comprehension of audiences. This analysis examines four claims: that time and temporality matter to the comprehension of stage and screen narratives; that the way narrative temporality is handled in both stage and screenplays differs according to the limitations and opportunities that each art form presents; that audience’s interpretation of temporal manipulations such as flashback, metaphorical time bombs, and the creation of suspense, surprise, and anticipation is dependent upon the emotional attachments that audiences have to adjustments in the temporality of both art forms; that emotional attachments to narrative are a response triggered by previous experience, memory association, and collective memory. The examination of these four claims is not intended to seek out single theories that explain complex cultural or social phenomena, instead, it is intended to provoke discussion for creative industry professionals about how psychological, physiological and environmental influences affect the audience’s perception of time in the stage and screen setting. It should also offer a greater insight into the consequential effects these influences have on the audience experience of watching a stage and screen narrative.
To demonstrate the differences in the way narrative temporality is manipulated within both stage and screenplays, I also present a case study of The Woman in Black, a narrative adapted for both art forms. Finally, by fully engaging with these theoretical conclusions, I offer a detailed assessment of the structural considerations made during the process of writing the creative element of this thesis. The creative element, which represents the greater part of the thesis, is made up of two full-length plays, one written for stage and one written for screen. Both plays are called ‘Delofonus’, both follow the same narrative storyline, and both are written within the limitations and opportunities that each art form presents.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):