The Monster in Theatre History : This Thing of Darkness

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. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 List of figures 10 Foreword 12 Acknowledgements 17 Introduction: the dramaturgy of empathy 20 Why study monsters? 24 The act of fear 29 The monster as surrogate 32 1. Caliban’s legacy 40 How to hunt monsters: the seven theses for the stage 46 2. Prometheus the thief 62 Monstrous transgressions 64 Regarding parenting 66 The modern Prometheus 67 3. Presumption 73 “———” 74 The prerogative of God 83 4. The vampire trap 89 Back from the dead 90 The rise of Ruthven 92 Angels of Hell 97 Wicked souls, wise purposes 102 The love that is death 105 The haemosexual agenda 110 5. Toys are us 117 The uncanny 117 The Jew’s monster 119 The Golem on the pulpit 124 An angel come too late 133 The techno-legacy of the Golem 135 6. Boo 140 Phantom history 140 Who’s there? 142 The spectre of war 146 Aristotle, revenant 148 The Romantic geist 153 7. Hairey Betwixt 164 The werewolf problem 165 Horrifying transformations 166 Lupus est homo 175 Conclusion 182 Defense against the dark art 182 Bibliography 191 Index 200 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. Book jacket 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 reconsiders what monsters in performance might mean to those who witness them. Michael Chemers. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.