British Dramas of Totalitarianism : Brenton and Bartlett
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| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Historical drama has been one of the most popular literary genres. At a theatre performance, there is a certain level of satisfaction in seeing a historic event happening and observing history’s greats with one’s own eyes – even when these are mere fictions of a history play’s author’s imagination. There are several types of history plays, such as chronicle, biography or living newspaper. Alternative history has become appealing, presenting “what if” scenarios of a historical development. My presentation will look into variations on the alternative history genre in the context of the recent British drama. It will consider several aspects of what is known as “future history”, looking for exemplifications into Howard Brenton’s The Churchill Play (1974) and Mike Bartlett’s King Charles III (2014), both depicting totalitarian Great Britain in a possible near future. In place of conclusion, it will raise the question of boundaries between the history play, historical fabrication and a possible future history, with a specific view to the medium of the theatre. |
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