This seminar offers students the opportunity to explore key works of contemporary British drama as both reading and performance texts. We will read black comedies written by Joe Orton (1933-1967) and violent tragedies produced by Sarah Kane (1971-1999). Orton and Kane gained notoriety during their lifetimes and we will read their works in the context of contemporary politics, sexual politics, the controversy surrounding the first performances of their works, and their untimely deaths. Kane and Orton’s plays will also be compared and contrasted with extracts taken from the work of other contemporary playwrights, such as Caryl Churchill (1938-).
Students are asked to purchase copies of: Sarah Kane: Complete Plays (Methuen, 2001) and Joe Orton: Complete Plays (Methuen, 1976).
Credit requirements are regular attendance, active participation and an end of term paper of 3000 words. The number of students in this course is limited to thirty. Only the first thirty students to register will be accepted as participants.