1st Edition

The Monster in Theatre History This Thing of Darkness

By Michael Chemers Copyright 2018
    204 Pages
    by Routledge

    204 Pages
    by Routledge

    Monsters are fragmentary, uncertain, frightening creatures. What happens when they enter the realm of the theatre?

    The Monster in Theatre History explores the cultural genealogies of monsters as they appear in the recorded history of Western theatre. From the Ancient Greeks to the most cutting-edge new media, Michael Chemers focuses on a series of ‘key’ monsters, including Frankenstein’s creature, werewolves, ghosts, and vampires, to reconsider what monsters in performance might mean to those who witness them.

    This volume builds a clear methodology for engaging with theatrical monsters of all kinds, providing a much-needed guidebook to this fascinating hinterland.

    Acknowledgements

    Foreword by Mike Carey

    Introduction: The Dramaturgy of Empathy

    Why Study Monsters?

    The Act of Fear

    The Monster as Surrogate

    Chapter One: Caliban’s Legacy

    How to Hunt Monsters: The Seven Theses for the Stage

    Chapter Two: Prometheus the Thief

    Monstrous Transgressions

    Regarding Parenting

    The Modern Prometheus

    Chapter Three: Presumption

    Staging the Creature

    "-----"

    The Prerogative of God

    Chapter Four: The Vampire Trap

    Back from the Dead

    The Rise of Ruthven

    The Angels of Hell

    Wicked Souls, Wise Purposes

    The Love that is Death

    The Haemosexual Agenda

    Chapter Four: Toys Are Us

    The Uncanny

    The Jew’s Monster

    Golem on the Pulpit

    An Angel Come Too Late

    The Technolegacy of the Golem

    Chapter Six: Boo

    Phantom History

    Who’s There?

    The Spectre of War

    Aristotle, Revenant

    The Romantic Geist

    Chapter Seven: Hairey Betwixt

    The Reluctant Demonologist

    The Werewolf Problem

    Horrifying Transformations

    Lupus Est

    Conclusion: Defense Against the Dark Art

    Bibliography

    Index

    Biography

    Michael Chemers is an Associate Professor of Theater Arts at the University of California Santa Cruz, USA.