Read on Twitter
Working on my Twitter essay "How contemporary theatres reinscribe the history of the 17th-century plague" for @EMQuon2020 on Friday, June 26 #EMQuon
I'm on the panel "‘Stories of the past are what propel us on’: Contemporary Theatrical Responses
to Pandemic, Quarantine, and Fears of Contagion" with @Becspeare @K_Leonard_PhD @DrBenander
to Pandemic, Quarantine, and Fears of Contagion" with @Becspeare @K_Leonard_PhD @DrBenander
Seventeenth-century England experienced two major outbreaks of plague: the disease caused the deaths of at least 140,000 people. We explore contemporary works and theaters’ responses to pandemics and quarantines.
@Becspeare addresses Matt Hartley’s drama EYAM, which depicts the plague’s arrival in an English village in 1665. In a community fraught with social & religious dissension, the villagers are forced to flee or isolate. If Eyam’s villagers can unify to stop the spread, can’t we?
@K_Leonard_PhD examines the musical theater work TEN PLAGUES about a desperate man’s journey through London. This work, in contrast with Eyam’s message of personal responsibility, illuminates how near-madness and fear combine to create a harrowing personal experience.
@DrBenander offers ways to approach teaching these two plays online during a time of quarantine, including using various online tools and activities. These approaches ask students to express their present experiences informed by historical and literary events.
My essay provides insight into how contemporary theatres reinscribe the history of the 17th-century plague, and how this informs their own closure and reopening narratives.
Together, our presentations offer drama in the context of pandemics and quarantines. Can this fear of contagion help classical theaters see the opportunities of this enforced enclosure for innovation and new forms of immersive experiences?
