The cultural industries often privilege the use of sight and sound as our main areas of experienc... more The cultural industries often privilege the use of sight and sound as our main areas of experience. This is especially the case in theatre criticism; but what of taste, smell and touch? Punchdrunk’s manipulation of sensorial experience allows their immersive performance to become both an enticing and destabilizing theatrical arena for the audience. The performance of intimacy constructed through the use of nostalgia triggering aromas, invitations to explore the set and performers bodies through touch, and the inclusion of one-on-one encounters between performers and audience members, all allow the actor/spectator to be seduced by the “story-world” of The Drowned Man. With the hyper-reality achieved through the film noir soundscape and the chaotic dance theatre sequences created by the performers, the spectator can delve into a fantasy world of menace and eroticism. This article examines the role of the spectator as erotic voyeur in Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man. Through an examination of the company’s use of interactive, sensorial experience where audience members are invited to touch, inhabit and investigate the world around them, Punchdrunk invite the audience to become a part of the world and yet remain separate from it, reinforcing the erotically charged voyeuristic realm of the production
THESIS 8676The purpose of this thesis is to position the events of the 2004 centenary of the Iris... more THESIS 8676The purpose of this thesis is to position the events of the 2004 centenary of the Irish National Theatre Society, known as abbeyonehundred, within the context of Irish institutional and cultural history. Interdisciplinary in scope, this thesis investigates the conflicting aims and policies of the public, the press, the government and its cultural institutions in regards to not only stage representations of national identity, but also concerns over public funding and the arts that affect the contemporary artistic community in Ireland today. Rather than study the Abbey apart from other cultural institutions, I engage with the discourse of institutional amnesia common among companies in periods of crisis. Though focusing primarily on the Irish National Theatre Society, 1 draw comparisons between events at the Abbey in 2004 with controversies from other institutions such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Concert Hall in Ireland, as well as the Royal Opera House and Royal National Theatre in the United Kingdom, to provide a broader view of issues systemic to large, cultural arts organizations. As my thesis argues, the mythmaking surrounding the Irish National Theatre Society as a unique and separate force amongst Irish institutions is reinforced by the Abbey?s commemorative practice and has been used as a validation of the company?s survival amongst frequent financial and artistic crises. However, the government?s relationship to arts funding and the Irish emphasis on culture for national significance remain equally noteworthy and intertwined with the challenges facing the Abbey in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
The Irish National Theatre Society began its centenary in 2004 with ambitious theatrical events a... more The Irish National Theatre Society began its centenary in 2004 with ambitious theatrical events at home and abroad. By the end of the year, however, the company was close to financial ruin, culminating in its dissolution and subsequent reestablishment. The financial crisis was only one element of controversy during the centenary year. During this period, the remit of the Abbey Theatre as a house for the performance of Irish identity and new Irish writing was brought into question. While debates unfolded over the artistic and financial crises, many commentators queried the very nature of, or need for, a national theatre in twenty-first-century Ireland. Examining organizational issues such as finance and public policy, as well as wider questions about the representation of Irishness on the national stage and the shaping of collective memory through commemoration, this book questions the way that the private concerns of the Irish National Theatre reflect greater issues within Irish society. Drawing together personal interviews, government documents, media sources and comparative studies from the history of the Republic, the author interweaves current and past crises of the Abbey Theatre with the social, cultural and financial anxieties of an evolving Ireland.
THESIS 8676The purpose of this thesis is to position the events of the 2004 centenary of the Iris... more THESIS 8676The purpose of this thesis is to position the events of the 2004 centenary of the Irish National Theatre Society, known as abbeyonehundred, within the context of Irish institutional and cultural history. Interdisciplinary in scope, this thesis investigates the conflicting aims and policies of the public, the press, the government and its cultural institutions in regards to not only stage representations of national identity, but also concerns over public funding and the arts that affect the contemporary artistic community in Ireland today. Rather than study the Abbey apart from other cultural institutions, I engage with the discourse of institutional amnesia common among companies in periods of crisis. Though focusing primarily on the Irish National Theatre Society, 1 draw comparisons between events at the Abbey in 2004 with controversies from other institutions such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Concert Hall in Ireland, as well as the Royal Opera House and Royal National Theatre in the United Kingdom, to provide a broader view of issues systemic to large, cultural arts organizations. As my thesis argues, the mythmaking surrounding the Irish National Theatre Society as a unique and separate force amongst Irish institutions is reinforced by the Abbey?s commemorative practice and has been used as a validation of the company?s survival amongst frequent financial and artistic crises. However, the government?s relationship to arts funding and the Irish emphasis on culture for national significance remain equally noteworthy and intertwined with the challenges facing the Abbey in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
An Immersive Performance at the Dock Arts Centre in Carrick-on-Shannon Ireland, interweaving stor... more An Immersive Performance at the Dock Arts Centre in Carrick-on-Shannon Ireland, interweaving stories from the Spanish Flu and Covid-19. Including real-life experience, personal narratives, theatre, video, and song. The performance will engage in safe socially distanced measures according to government guidelines, using them as part of the story
The cultural industries often privilege the use of sight and sound as our main areas of experienc... more The cultural industries often privilege the use of sight and sound as our main areas of experience. This is especially the case in theatre criticism; but what of taste, smell and touch? Punchdrunk’s manipulation of sensorial experience allows their immersive performance to become both an enticing and destabilizing theatrical arena for the audience. The performance of intimacy constructed through the use of nostalgia triggering aromas, invitations to explore the set and performers bodies through touch, and the inclusion of one-on-one encounters between performers and audience members, all allow the actor/spectator to be seduced by the “story-world” of The Drowned Man. With the hyper-reality achieved through the film noir soundscape and the chaotic dance theatre sequences created by the performers, the spectator can delve into a fantasy world of menace and eroticism. This article examines the role of the spectator as erotic voyeur in Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man. Through an examination of the company’s use of interactive, sensorial experience where audience members are invited to touch, inhabit and investigate the world around them, Punchdrunk invite the audience to become a part of the world and yet remain separate from it, reinforcing the erotically charged voyeuristic realm of the production
THESIS 8676The purpose of this thesis is to position the events of the 2004 centenary of the Iris... more THESIS 8676The purpose of this thesis is to position the events of the 2004 centenary of the Irish National Theatre Society, known as abbeyonehundred, within the context of Irish institutional and cultural history. Interdisciplinary in scope, this thesis investigates the conflicting aims and policies of the public, the press, the government and its cultural institutions in regards to not only stage representations of national identity, but also concerns over public funding and the arts that affect the contemporary artistic community in Ireland today. Rather than study the Abbey apart from other cultural institutions, I engage with the discourse of institutional amnesia common among companies in periods of crisis. Though focusing primarily on the Irish National Theatre Society, 1 draw comparisons between events at the Abbey in 2004 with controversies from other institutions such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Concert Hall in Ireland, as well as the Royal Opera House and Royal National Theatre in the United Kingdom, to provide a broader view of issues systemic to large, cultural arts organizations. As my thesis argues, the mythmaking surrounding the Irish National Theatre Society as a unique and separate force amongst Irish institutions is reinforced by the Abbey?s commemorative practice and has been used as a validation of the company?s survival amongst frequent financial and artistic crises. However, the government?s relationship to arts funding and the Irish emphasis on culture for national significance remain equally noteworthy and intertwined with the challenges facing the Abbey in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
The Irish National Theatre Society began its centenary in 2004 with ambitious theatrical events a... more The Irish National Theatre Society began its centenary in 2004 with ambitious theatrical events at home and abroad. By the end of the year, however, the company was close to financial ruin, culminating in its dissolution and subsequent reestablishment. The financial crisis was only one element of controversy during the centenary year. During this period, the remit of the Abbey Theatre as a house for the performance of Irish identity and new Irish writing was brought into question. While debates unfolded over the artistic and financial crises, many commentators queried the very nature of, or need for, a national theatre in twenty-first-century Ireland. Examining organizational issues such as finance and public policy, as well as wider questions about the representation of Irishness on the national stage and the shaping of collective memory through commemoration, this book questions the way that the private concerns of the Irish National Theatre reflect greater issues within Irish society. Drawing together personal interviews, government documents, media sources and comparative studies from the history of the Republic, the author interweaves current and past crises of the Abbey Theatre with the social, cultural and financial anxieties of an evolving Ireland.
THESIS 8676The purpose of this thesis is to position the events of the 2004 centenary of the Iris... more THESIS 8676The purpose of this thesis is to position the events of the 2004 centenary of the Irish National Theatre Society, known as abbeyonehundred, within the context of Irish institutional and cultural history. Interdisciplinary in scope, this thesis investigates the conflicting aims and policies of the public, the press, the government and its cultural institutions in regards to not only stage representations of national identity, but also concerns over public funding and the arts that affect the contemporary artistic community in Ireland today. Rather than study the Abbey apart from other cultural institutions, I engage with the discourse of institutional amnesia common among companies in periods of crisis. Though focusing primarily on the Irish National Theatre Society, 1 draw comparisons between events at the Abbey in 2004 with controversies from other institutions such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Concert Hall in Ireland, as well as the Royal Opera House and Royal National Theatre in the United Kingdom, to provide a broader view of issues systemic to large, cultural arts organizations. As my thesis argues, the mythmaking surrounding the Irish National Theatre Society as a unique and separate force amongst Irish institutions is reinforced by the Abbey?s commemorative practice and has been used as a validation of the company?s survival amongst frequent financial and artistic crises. However, the government?s relationship to arts funding and the Irish emphasis on culture for national significance remain equally noteworthy and intertwined with the challenges facing the Abbey in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
An Immersive Performance at the Dock Arts Centre in Carrick-on-Shannon Ireland, interweaving stor... more An Immersive Performance at the Dock Arts Centre in Carrick-on-Shannon Ireland, interweaving stories from the Spanish Flu and Covid-19. Including real-life experience, personal narratives, theatre, video, and song. The performance will engage in safe socially distanced measures according to government guidelines, using them as part of the story
The Irish National Theatre Society began its centenary in 2004 with ambitious theatrical events a... more The Irish National Theatre Society began its centenary in 2004 with ambitious theatrical events at home and abroad. By the end of the year, however, the company was close to financial ruin, culminating in its dissolution and subsequent reestablishment. The financial crisis was only one element of controversy during the centenary year. During this period, the remit of the Abbey Theatre as a house for the performance of Irish identity and new Irish writing was brought into question. While debates unfolded over the artistic and financial crises, many commentators queried the very nature of, or need for, a national theatre in twenty-first-century Ireland. Examining organizational issues such as finance and public policy, as well as wider questions about the representation of Irishness on the national stage and the shaping of collective memory through commemoration, this book questions the way that the private concerns of the Irish National Theatre reflect greater issues within Irish society. Drawing together personal interviews, government documents, media sources and comparative studies from the history of the Republic, the author interweaves current and past crises of the Abbey Theatre with the social, cultural and financial anxieties of an evolving Ireland.
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Papers by Holly Maples