Theatre and Television: Adaptation, Production, Performance
A call for papers for a one-day conference at the University of Westminster,
Friday 20 February 2015
Proposals are invited for twenty-minute papers (or three-paper panels)
addressing issues and topics related to theatre plays on British television
from 1930 to the present. Strong proposals which engage with the history of
theatre plays on the television networks of other countries and offer useful
comparands with the British example will also be considered. In order to
encourage a truly interdisciplinary discussion we warmly welcome proposals
from scholars and postgraduate students engaged with adaptation studies,
broadcasting and film histories, media and cultural studies, and the
histories of theatre and performance. Possible topics for examination and
exploration include, but are not limited to, the following:
* The forms and screen languages of British television presentations of
theatre plays.
* The evolution of what may be regarded as the normative¹ style of studio
drama, and the development of new forms within and beyond the studio.
* Discussions of the concept of adaptation¹ applied to television
productions of theatre plays.
* Studies of particular genres, plays or playwrights across time.
* Drama on television within educational contexts, such as school or
university strands.
* Audience and reception studies of how viewers engaged with these
productions.
* The changing social and cultural meanings of theatre on television and the
ways in which these were regarded and exploited by broadcasters in
particular historical circumstances.
* The institutional, production, technological and aesthetic contexts of
television adaptations within both broadcasting and British theatre.
* The extensive commercial and cultural relationships between the theatre,
individual companies and television.
* The movement of practitioners between the spheres of theatre and
television.
* Comparative studies of theatre plays on radio and as produced for the
British cinema.
* The post-1980s decline of theatre on British television and the recent
revival of interest in its possibilities in the multi-platform age.
Proposals in the form of a 250-word abstract and brief biography (or
200-word panel outline, with accompanying individual abstracts and brief
biographies), should be submitted to both John Wyver
This conference is the culminating event of the AHRC-funded research project
Screen Plays: Theatre Plays on British Television. Screen Plays is concerned
with all plays written for the theatre that have been produced for British
television since 1930. The project documents and develops new critical
approaches to the television presentation of these plays, seeking to
understand the institutional, production, technological and aesthetic
contexts for these adaptations within both broadcasting and British theatre.
More can be read about the project¹s aims, activities and research areas on
*With apologies for cross-posting.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr Amanda Wrigley, Research Fellow
Screen Plays: Theatre Plays on British Television
University of Westminster
@amanda_wrigley on Twitter
