text - theatre
274 terence
MARTIN HARRISON, The Language of Theatre, London,
Carcanet, 1998, pp. 274/279
text The written version of a play; the script in both it s senses
of dialogue and book. From Fr. texte and Old Norman French
tixte (and variations), text is derived from L. textus, what
Quintilian defined as 'the tissue of a literary work', from text-,
the past tense stem of texere, 'to weave'. That is, it is a unified
piece com posed of strands taken from elsewhere. The word is
first used in C14 with the sense of the actual words written or
spoken:'Fyrst telle me pe tyxte of pe tede lettres' (OED). It
also carries with it (as is born out in its use as 'gospel' and
'extract from the gospel an aura of truth and authority: 'But truly I
telle as pe texte sais' (1400, Destruction of Troy). Its figurative use
for 'content' or 'sub ject matter' was developed in C17, but its
use as an edition or book was not developed until C19: 'Our
present Received I'm hath been a growth developed from many
and various sources' (1841, OED). Clearly, in theatre the text is
only the starting-point of a production and there is always a
tension between the author's (unknowable) intentions - textual
authority - and a director's reading of them (which echoes the
debate over texte, ecriture and lecture which still rages between
traditional, structuralist and post structuralist literary critics).
Swift spotted this in 1720 in 'To Stella': 'Say, Stella, when you
copy next,/Will you keep strictly to the text?'
It is a decision that a director has to make. Here Peter Brook
impales himself on the fence of that dilemma
Should we respect the text? I think there is a healthy double
attitude, with respect on the one hand and disrespect on the
other. And the dialectic between the two is what it's all about If
you go solely one or the other way, you lose the possibility of
capturing the truth.. .What in one line doesn't mater, |
275
another matters like hell. One must trust one's judgement and
take the consequences, (p.95)
theatre Under the entry for drama, the debate about the distinc-
tion between 'theatre' and 'drama' was opened. To resume: whilst
I found good reason to dispute Elam's definition of drama, his
definition of theatre as 'the complex of phenomena associated with
the performer-audience transaction' does seem to be borne out
by the word's etymology. It is significant that Gk theatron means
literally 'a seeing-place' or 'a place for viewing', from theaomai,
'to behold', as it stresses not the performer nor the drama per -
formed but the audience, the spectators. Theatre is thus, by defini-
tion, a public event, and the importance of the audience is stressed
over that of the performer, although, of course, nothing can be
seen without something to see.
It is this that makes me suspect that the term 'theatre', whilst
more socially sophisticated than drama, is the younger concept.
'Drama', with the emphasis inbuilt in the root on the primacy of
doing, harks back to the roots of ritual and of participation. With
'theatre', a separation has occurred. This is not the place for a
detailed description of the ancient theatre but the outline in OED
seems worth quoting for what we can deduce from its staging: 'It
had the form of a segment of a circle; the auditorium was usually
excavated from a hillside, the seats rising above and behind one
another; the orchestra, occupied by the chorus, separated the
stage from the auditorium.'
Whilst the precise nature of the details of Ancient Greek staging
will always include aspects of surmise, I believe the structure of
the theatre site informs the nature of the theatrical experience. There
tends to be some separation, emotional and intellectual as well as
physical, in the theatre between the audience and the performer/
performance, but at the same time, here in the form of the chorus
which is both part of the action and part of the audience to the
main plot - in a sense an intermediary - there is also a form of
participation. It is this shifting balance of distance and involve-
ment that distinguishes theatre spaces, theatre genres and indi -
vidual plays and performances one from another.
It is significant that both the OED's first attestations of'theatre'
have members of the audience as subject: 'Comune strompetes
of swich a place that men clepyn the theatre' (c.1374, Chaucer,
Boethius) and 'Thei maden a sawt with oon ynwit, or wille, in to
the teatre' (1382, Wyclif). The difference in spelling suggests a
possible difference of pronunciation and also that Chaucer may
have taken his word direct from L. theatrum whilst Wyclif's may
come from Fr. teatre. It is worth noting at this juncture that
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pronunciations still differ: in England, the word tends to be stres-sed on the first
syllable, whereas there are still those in America .1 (and in Britain, if trying to
sound ironically actorly, often deliver-ing the word in ham fashion) who stress
the second syllable.
We can possibly give credit for the use of 'theatre' (as opposed to 'playhouse'
etc.) as the generic term for the purpose-built Eng-lish building to James
Burbage who, in 1576, built the first cut tom-built theatre - The Theatre, in
Shoreditch, outside the bomi daries of the City of London: 'Those places.. .which
are made vp and builded for such Plaies and Enterludes, as the Theatre and
Curtaine is' (1578, Northbrooke, Dicing). Of course, he may simply have given
the building the most obvious descriptive name, as certainly the word is
generally used alongside 'play house' from only marginally later: 'As in a
Theater, the eyes o| men/After a well-graced Actor leaues the Stage,/Are idly bent
on him that enters next'(1595, Shakespeare, Richard 11, V.ii). ('Ihi s spelling of
theater, now American, was prevalent alongside the current English spelling
until eC18 but had been dropped by 1750.)
From lC16-mC17, it was possible to use 'theatre' as 'stage' 'A theatre, or
scaffold whereon musitions, singers, or such like shew their cunning,
orchestra' (1589, OED) - but this practice died out by 1C17. Significant to our
definition of the word, how ever, are the early attestations of its use as 'a
theatreful of spec-tators; the audience, or "house", at a theatre' (OED). 'The
censure of the which one must in your allowance o'reway a whole T h e a t r e of
others' {Hamlet, III.ii).
Whilst 'drama' does not appear to have been extended into metaphorical use
until C18, this process occurred early with 'theatre', as it did with stage.
Whilst the Hamlet attestation above could arguably be seen as such an
extension, the metaphorical development is made clear in Bacon's The
Advancement of Learning ing, (1605): 'But men must know, that in this theatre
of man's life it is reserved only for God and angels to be lookers-on. 1 vast range
of such usages exists to the present day, notably in the much-employed theatre of
war, a term first attested in eC18: The theatre of a Civil War' (1720, tr. Ozell,
History of the RevoludM that Happened in the Government of the Roman
Republic).
Its further modern usage in terms such as lecture theatre and operating
theatre, based on the fact there was an audience at both, can be dated to eC17 too,
with the adoption of the term for what was to become the Sheldonian Theatre at
Oxford University That is now rather become a Sepulcher of sciences, then a
Theater there being not above five students' (1613, Purchas, Pilgrimage)
theatre
'Theatre' was not used as a general term for 'dramatic art' until after the
Restoration, at the same time this development occurred to 'drama': it was a
great period for abstract classification: 'By his encouragement, Corneille,
and some other Frenchmen, reformed their theatre, which before was as
much below ours, as it now surpasses it' (1668, Dryden, Essay on Dramatic
Poesy). However, it could be argued that this process was occurring before the
Interregnum, as in this reference to the opus of Ben Jonson: 'He was often
pleas'd, to feed your eare/With the choice dainties of his Theatre' (1640,
C.G., in Brome, Antipodes to Censuring
Criticks).
'Theatre' is also commonly used with an adjectival function, e.g. 'theatre
design'. As this list is practically endless, with the exception of a group of
words included alphabetically below, the substantive word can be found under
its own heading e.g. design. theatre club A theatre club, like a 'stage society', is
often a closed organisation which does not open its doors to public audiences,
drawing instead on a list of members or subscribers. In the past, such clubs
were on occasions private expressly in order to avoid the restrictions imposed
by the Lord Chamberlain and local Watch Committees: for example, the
Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh was only able to get away with its influential
experimental work involving 'bad' language, nudity etc. by dint of its
somewhat bogus club status.
Theatre, Doctor Doctor Theatre is a common theatrical term implying the
restorative powers of theatre for those suffering from fatigue of the body, mind
and soul. It is clearly modelled on the same formula as 'Doctor Brighton', a
common society colloquialism dating from the 1820s. Whereas that did not
survive into C20, Doctor Theatre is still practising.
theatre-goer The term, dating at least from mC19, applied to any person
who attends a theatrical performance, though more commonly suggesting an
habitual visitor to theatres, someone given to theatre-going: 'Part of the great
quest was theatre-going itself. I had seen my first Shakespeare at the St.
George's Theatre, Tufnell Park, when I was fourteen.. .Now that I'd found
my vocation, theatre-going was a wonderful adventure' (Branagh,
36).
theatre language, theatrical language Theatre language can be used to refer
simply to the dialogue of a play, but it has two further, specialised usages: firstly,
the in-language of theatre people, the subject of this book; the second is more
commonly encountered in the form theatrical language: 'We are adopting a
different theatrical language, and we have to speak it very fluently, very quickly
for the audience to get the meaning' (Plays and Players, October 1990). This
m-lC20 term is not merely a reference to dialogue it refers to a nexus of
non-verbal language and conventions 'spoken' in theatrical performance
which, like all languages needs to be decoded by the audience and, like all
conventions, needs also to be accepted by them. Theatrical language, like
all languages, is in a state of constant evolution. The dialects tl most difficult
for Joe Public to interpret are those of the avant garde.
theatre-in-education See T.I.E.
theatre-in-the-round The term used to refer to a type of staging also less
commonly known as arena staging. It is characterised by the performance area
being a ring or (despite the apparently wild geometrical inaccuracy) some
form of square or polygon: this space is entirely surrounded by the audience.
Such staging goes back to Ancient times but was only reinstated in Western
Euro pean indoor theatres in 1C18 in the form of circuses. Artaud proposed its
use in the 1920s, although he also suggested that the action action should
surround the audience, and it was adopted by MOS-cow's Realistic Theatre for
 some productions in the mid-1930s, reaching Britain in the 1940s by way of
John English's A RENA Theatre Company. Its adoption as one of the most common
m- lC20 auditorium forms in newly-designed theatres, and a favourite for mat
for flexible staging, has been rapid. Its popularity amongst professionals and
audiences alike, reflects a significant reappraisal, of the theatrical experience.
theatre people Along with theatre-folk, a term used for a l l those professionally
involved in the theatrical world.
theatre-pitch '[My voice] can go on for longer, at full theatre pitch, just as
those toy cars powered by a certain battery outlast those using an inferior
sort,' Barkworth (p.96) claims of periods when he is working in the theatre and
doing regular voice exercises. Theatre-pitch refers to level and control of
projection diction, pace etc. required for public performance.
theatre time Traditionally, theatre time is chronologically inaccurate 11 rate by
five minutes, at least from the backstage point of view, if a poor girl be one
minute late by the Cruel Stage M infallible chronometer, which, with the
Green-room clock, he always keeps five minutes before the horse Guards, he
directs prompter to "fine her"' (1850s, Thomas William Robertson, The
Illustrated Times, quoted in Nagler, 494).
theatre workshop A term which has grown in usage since the 1950s,
echoing the name of the highly-influential, post-war Theatre Workshop
company which eventually found a home at
the Theatre Royal, Stratford East (i.e. Stratford, East London). See
workshop.

theatrical As an adjective, with its simplest sense of'of or pertaining to the

theatre', theatrical is in evidence from mC16, the earliest OED attestation being
from 1558: 'To dispense God's word.. .in poor destitute Parishes... more
meet for my decayed Voice... than in Theatricall and great audience.' In this
factually- descriptive sense it is to be found in a variety of phrases such as
theatrical agent, theatrical digs, and theatrical family - the latter referring to
dynasties such as the Terrys, the Mills, the Redgraves etc. In most such
senses, the adjectival use is self-explanatory and the substantive word can be
found under its own heading.
A development occurs in mC17, when 'theatrical' takes on the sense of
' . . . t h a t simulates or is simulated; artificial, affected, assumed' (OED). 'Man in
businesse is but a Theatricall person, and in a manner but personates
himselfe' (1649). The affected overtones are developed in eC18, when OED
adds the more derogatory 'extravagantly and irrelevantly histrionic; "stagy"
[sic]; calculated for display, showy, spectacular', quoting Steele and Addison
(1709-10, The Tatler,No. 136): 'His Theatrical Manner of making Love.'

theatricality The noun developed in eC19 from theatrical. Whilst there was a
rare sense of the word meaning 'a dramatic performance' - 'I remember once
taking her to Drury Lane Theatre... Of the theatricality itself that night, I can
remember absolutely nothing' (1866, Carlyle, Reminiscences) - by far the most
common senses relates to 'theatrical', and it can be used with a range of nuances
from 'having or exploiting the qualities of a theatrical performance' to 'the
quality of being stagey and showy': 'I love theatricality... but for me a great
naturalistic performance in a quiet part can be just as exciting as seeing
someone in heavy make-up with a physical contortion very clearly "acting"'
(Bran-agh, 112). It can be seen from this reference that the term almost has the
overtones of 'melodramatic'. It has been used generally almost since being
coined, here with less extreme connotations: 'By act and word he strives to do it;
with sincerity, if possible; failing that, with theatricality' (1837, Carlyle, French
Revolution). An alternative form, theatricalism, is rarely used. theatricals Now
most commonly used as a term for 'theatrical performances and related
activities', though it is most frequently used for amateur 'dabblings' in theatre,
probably because it carries the sense of the adjective theatrical, 'of or pertaining
to the theatre': it is not quite the thing itself (compare dramatics). It is most
commonly found in the phrase amateur theatrical