'It Opens!' The Victorian Wood Stage and its Magic Box Aesthetic

Geraint D'Arcy

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The modern performance space often rejects the fly-tower and removes the under-stage machinery and since the early 1900s the proscenium arch has become increasingly unfashionable. What it has not abandoned, despite the "new" intermedial turn, is the versatility of the wood-stage system certainly in its philosophy of spirit: the ability to stage action imaginatively in as many different ways as possible in a single space. The psycho-plasticity of the modern performance space owes its inheritance to the wood-stage of the Victorians. This lecture draws upon his research and theories and examines the traps and devices collectively known as the Victorian wood-stage. It asks if there was more to those machines than just cabinetry and pulleys and how does the aesthetic of a nineteenth century spectacle hold the key to understanding modern theatre technology?
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSociety for Theatre Research
Publication statusPublished - 18 Apr 2012
Event Society for Theatre Research Lecture Series - Location unknown - please update
Duration: 18 Apr 201218 Apr 2012

Conference

Conference Society for Theatre Research Lecture Series
Period18/04/1218/04/12

Keywords

  • theatre history
  • theatre aesthetics
  • theatre technology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of ''It Opens!' The Victorian Wood Stage and its Magic Box Aesthetic'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this