Problematic Deaths: The Art of Killing in Early Modern Tragedy

This thesis examines acts of killing within early modern tragedies, focussing on inherent problematics and the impact of their realisation in contemporary performance. It questions the nature of what constitutes a problem and how such instances of theatrical violence can be classified in terms of their affective, pragmatic and aesthetic concerns. Through an exploration of both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, adapted and developed from the theories of Schrickel (2020) and Maniglier (2019), the project introduces an original paradigm for the analysis of early modern deaths. 

This multi-structural framework identifies and classifies problematic elements within acts of killing, utilising a domain-based approach to their critical analysis. The Affective domain considers problematics pertaining to matters of intimacy, immersivity and complicity; the Pragmatic domain is focussed on the balance of efficiency and effectiveness relative to problems of the performance space, the effect being simulated and the individual/s undertaking the simulation; and the Aesthetic domain addresses problems associated with the impact of the overarching artistic concept, the directorial interpretation and the resulting live performance. Each Problematic domain represents an interdependent structure of constituent subdomains, which, when connected together, create a complex and highly nuanced transdisciplinary paradigm.

Utilising specific case study productions, John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi performed at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (2014), and William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, performed at Shakespeare’s Globe (2014) and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (2017), the thesis interrogates exemplar Problematic deaths, analysing their application of Problematic domains and postulating how further manipulation could ensure the retention of currency for the early modern canon of tragedies within contemporary production cycles.