The Scenography of Howard Barker
The Wrestling School Aesthetic 1998-2011
Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies Series

Influential contemporary British playwright and director Howard Barker has been engaging with the scenography of the Wrestling School?s productions since 1998. Despite this active involvement in the design of set, costume, lighting, and sound, no in-depth published study on this aspect of his work exists to date. This monograph therefore offers the first comprehensive and detailed analysis of Barker?s scenographic practice.

Combining aesthetic analysis of play texts and production records with original interview materials, this book presents the first full-length foray into Barker?s scenography. It features extracts from conversations with designers working with Barker, and with Barker himself. In addition, it presents the first printed versions of select set and costume designs by Barker.

With the first fully detailed analysis of Barker?s scenographic work, this book will be a vital read for scholars and postgraduates of Barker Studies, contemporary British and European drama, theatre, and scenography.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Two Decades of Scenographic Imagination

Approaching Scenographic Analysis through Aesthetics

From Wagner, Appia, and Craig to Wilson, Goebbels, and Barker

Chapter 1: Space and Place

1.1. Landscape Plays

1.2. Chamber plays:

1.3. Conclusion: not nowhere, but…

Chapter 2: Light and Darkness

2.1. Chiaroscuro and Side-Lighting

2.2. The Ganzfeld effect and the Limits of Perception

Chapter 3: Costume and Styling

3.1. Material Matters

3.2. The Body (Un)Dressed

3.3. Grades of Likeness

Chapter 4: Sound and Silence

4.1. (In)Human Voices and De-naturalised Sounds

4.2. Ubiquity and the End of Meaning

Conclusion

Appendix

References

Index

Lara Maleen Kipp is an early career researcher, scenographer, and theatre practitioner. Her PhD at Aberystwyth University engaged in an aesthetic analysis of Howard Barker’s scenography. Previously, she completed a Master’s degree in Practising Theatre & Performance and a joint BA (Hons) in Scenography & Theatre Design and Drama & Theatre Studies. Her work experiences include Vivienne Westwood Studios, the Salzburg Opera Festival, and a lectureship at the University of Derby. She has published with Intellect, De Gruyter, Palgrave Macmillan, Sorbonne University, and Taylor & Francis. Her research interests include scenography, voice and performance, and contemporary European Theatre.