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Filming and Performing Renaissance History:Representing Conflict, Crisis and Nation
Report
19-21 September 2008
Present: Ruth Abraham, Fran Brearton, Mark Thornton Burnett, Clara Calvo, Patricia Canning, Kate Chedgzoy, Gabriela Colipcă, Ashley Dunne, Jonathan Durrant, Paul Frazer, Winifred Glover, Andrew Higson, Edel Lamb, Adele Lee,Frank McGuinness, Antaine Ó Donnaíle, Mary O’Dowd,Ligia Pârvu, Rosa Maria Garcia Periago, Emma Rhatigan, Claire Van Kampen, Ramona Wray and undergraduates.
Saturday 20 September
Paper Session One
Clara Calvo, University of Murcia
Early Modern England as a Site of Conflict in 1916
Clara Calvo’s paper examined the 1916 Shakespeare Tercentenary as an archeological site that introduces pertinent questions about gender, authorship and nation.
Andrew Higson, University of East Anglia
Private Lives and Public Conflicts: The English Renaissance on Film, 1998-2008
Andrew Higson’s paper addressed recent films devoted to reconstructions of the Renaissance in terms of market, audience and genre. The Renaissance (a space for investigations into inheritance, nationhood and religious authority) was seen as an explorative phenomenon that facilitated reflections on the present.
Gabriela Colipcă and Ligia Pârvu, ‘Dunărea de Jos’ University of Galaţi
Mirrors of Absolute Power and National Crisis in Renaissance England and Moldavia
This paper examined the parallels between the lives and reigns of two kings, the Moldavian prince Stephen the Great (1457-1504) and Henry VIII. The plays, Shakespeare’s Henry VIII (1623) and Barbu Ştefănescu Delavrancea’s Apus de Soare (Sunset) (1909), foreground moments of political crisis, attempts at undermining royal authority by treacherous courtiersand the issue of succession to the throne. Questions considered included the extent to which there was a Renaissance in the Moldavian context and the national implications of a 1974 film version of Stephen the Great.
Discussion centred on the local political contexts of the 1974 Romanian film, with Mark Thornton Burnett asking about communism and ideology. Ramona Wray inquired if documentaries complicated the picture of the Anglophone Renaissance presented by Andrew Higson. Jonathan Durrant suggested that other modalities of representation were available for the kinds of critique potentially enabled by the documentary mode.
Interview between Mark Thornton Burnett, Queen’s University, Belfast, and Professor Frank McGuinness (UniversityCollege, Dublin)
Frank McGuinness, Ireland’s leading playwright, is well known for his three Renaissance-based plays, Innocence,Mutabilitie andSpeaking Like Magpies. In interview, specially recorded for the occasion, Frank McGuinness answered questions on whether or not there was a ‘conscious design’ in his being drawn to the period, on the demythologizing orientation of his dramaturgy, on his dispassionate, materially-based conception of the Renaissance, on the cultures that shape individuals, on his use of comedy and bathos, on Irish politics, on redemption, and on sources and influences (including the film director, Derek Jarman, Shakespeare and Renaissance drama). Questions from the floor concentrated upon theological/tripartite structures in his work (Fran Brearton) and the significance of titles (Winifred Glover). Frank McGuinness described Catholic influences and explained the title, Speaking Like Magpies, in relation to popular stereotypes of gossip and conversation.
Antaine Ó Donnaíle, BBC
Film Event: The Flight of the Earls: From the Annals to the Screen
Antaine Ó Donnaíle’s paperdiscussed some of the challenges which confronted him as producer and presenter of the Irish language documentary production for BBC Northern Ireland, The Flight of the Earls. There were reflections upon music, design choices, the need for accessibility, versions of history and broadcast, debate over terminology, the importance of canvassing different perspectives, and viewing figures and reception. The paper was followed by an exclusive symposium screening of The Flight of the Earls in the Queen’s Film Theatre.
Workshop
Ruth Abraham (Queen’s University, Belfast) and Rosa Maria Garcia Periago (University of Murcia)
‘The Winner Takes it All’: Conflict in the Visual Perspective
This postgraduate-led workshop investigated questions surrounding filmic and theatrical constructions of crisis, conflict and nation in the Renaissance period.
Discussion commenced with reflection upon the documentary, The Flight of the Earls. Antaine Ó Donnaíle noted that the music (traditional and orchestral) was commissioned for the documentary, but that the orchestral score was added later in the interests of variety. He observed that the documentary was essentially script-driven. Claire Van Kampen remarked that this was the first time she had experienced a telling of so important a story. Antaine Ó Donnaíle agreed that Ireland is invariably left out of the documentary record, citing David Starkey’s recent interventions. Andrew Higson asked about design decisions – the cows locking horns, the dolphin, a magpie.Antaine Ó Donnaíle replied that the thinking was to prioritize a recreation of context that paid attention to a rural Ulster. By contrast, traffic noise in the modern-day London sections was emphasized. Winifred Glover praised the documentary’s stress on bogs and marshes as an authentic early modern feature. Ramona Wray referred participants to related documentary features about remembering and commemoration (citing the film, Looking for Richard), while Mark Thornton Burnett inquired about the personal investment in the making of the Antaine Ó Donnaíle documentary. Clara Calvo made connections to celebrations in other cultures; Ligia Pârvu reflected on the fates of the remaining earls from a Romanian perspective. Replying, Antaine Ó Donnaíle acknowledged a personal element, discussed related commemorations (and his plans to make a series about the plantation), and noted that the documentary had in its original conception a much tighter focus. Claire Van Kampen asked why ‘flight’ had been favoured over and above ‘journey’. Antaine Ó Donnaíle remarked that old habits died hard, that ‘flight’ (an English expression) was often translated back into Irish as ‘flight’ rather than ‘departure’, that errors have been perpetuated by modern historians, and that there was a need for a shared history in Northern Ireland. In this relation, Ruth Abraham noted that the Elizabethan galleon used for recreation shots signaled less flight than adventure.
Ruth Abraham and Rosa Maria Garcia Periago’s workshop investigated the notion that films set in or around a Renaissance context concern themselves with present-day society. Lawrence Olivier’s Henry V, Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V and Stephen Cavanagh’s Hamlet were cited as pertinent instances. The presentation also rehearsed the significance of recent ‘Bollywood’ Shakespeare films, films equally concerned with the operations of the past in the present (in this case, constructions of India after independence). Film such as Maqbool and Omkara, it was suggested, raise issues of diaspora and questions about homeland and the imagination. Symposium participants were also directed to a number of Spanish ‘Renaissance’ films, including Alatriste (2006), Los Borgia (2006) and Miguel y William (2007). The points of contact between such films, and British and/or US films set in the period, were debated. Continuities and divergences in adaptation were discussed, while distinctions were drawn between adaptations of Renaissance texts or narratives and period-based feature films. The multiple, unexpected connections between various genres of Renaissance film were rehearsed. This stage of the workshop concluded with a discussion of television parodies of the Gunpowder Plot and with a series of questions. Why are particular moments of conflict consistently replayed? In what ways can we access other non-national constructions of the Renaissance on film?
In the final stage of the workshop – open discussion – Mark Thornton Burnett asked to whom the Renaissance belonged in the popular imagination. Gabriela Colipcă spoke of a conceptual gap in this connection. Ligia Pârvu spoke of the Renaissance as a European phenomenon, one precipitated primarily by Italy and classical influences, and of numerous, different historical Renaissances. Jonathan Durrant cited other relations – between Germany and Poland, between neo-Latin and the vernacular. Claire Van Kampen instanced a Serbian Shakespeare Festival. It was suggested that all of the films we watch devoted to a reconstruction of the Renaissance period are narrow in viewpoint. Claire Van Kampen speculated that the global system, early modern and modern, closes down comprehensibility: Henry V does not instance the Flight of the Earls; the Spanish Golden Age is not necessarily known on a world-wide basis; there is always a skewed view of winners and losers. Edel Lamb suggested that language determines reception and expressed interest in Antaine Ó Donnaíle’s decision to film two versions of his documentary, one in English and one in Irish. Antaine Ó Donnaíle stated that the documentary was commissioned in English and that the decision also to film in Irish was a self-conscious response to the opportunities provided to create a new version of Irish history.
Mark Thornton Burnett wondered if certain representations were unfamiliar because familiarity is always predetermined. Clara Calvo introduced the possibility of quality as a criterion. Discussion proceeded via reflections on Miguel y William as a sequel to Shakespeare in Love (1988) and via questions of historical accuracy. Jonathan Durrant noted that history is always inaccurate. Building upon the idea of authenticity, Claire Van Kampen drew attention to debate about modern dress in theatrical representation and suggested that authenticity was not a prevailing concern in the Renaissance period. Andrew Higson suggested that Shakespeare in Love made a point of stressing its status as a fiction, while Mark Thornton Burnett related this to issues of globalization, language and identity. Kate Chedgzoy referred to the work of Walter Mignolo in relation to the question of the ownership of the Renaissance as a concept and a category. She mentioned other ways of telling Renaissance stories, and the cost involved for those who did not participate in official histories. It was clear why history was written for (and by) the victors, she noted, adding that victims was conspicuous by their absence. Shakespeare, it was suggested, stands as proxy for Renaissance thinking and practice.
In a discussion of genre, Mark Thornton Burnett drew attention to a recent spate of cookery and re-enactment programmes centred on the Renaissance. These, he suggested, afforded a rare construction of a vernacular perspective. Andrew Higson suggested that, in any period, the number of costume drama films was relatively small: we ask self-enclosed questions, we inquire from the point of view of our own interests. Mark Thornton Burnett agreed, adding that we look to have a previously arranged sense of the Renaissance confirmed in our minds. Winifred Glover noted how cultural practice confirms a canon or pantheon of celebrated Renaissance personalities. Clare Van Kampen added that empires dictate who and what is looked at. Jonathan Durrant wondered if the mid-seventeenth century was becoming newly popular, while Kate Chedgzoy suggested that few films engaged with early modern empire-building per se. In economically-based responses to these arguments, Andrew Higson maintained that there has to be an existing market for film, Antaine Ó Donnaíle pointed out that a history has to be known before its documentary equivalent can be commissioned and Clare Van Kampen instanced the rewriting of history in the face of studio pressure. Clara Calvo reminded participants of the Renaissance enthusiasm for rewriting. Discussion moved from Shakespeare to Jane Austen. While the power of Jane Austen and the genre of romance was acknowledged (Winifred Glover), it was also pointed out that Austen is difficult to reproduce, that there is an educational charge attached to her novels, and that her work is affected by being already in the public domain (Kate Chedgzoy). Andrew Higson concluded by stressing the transnational and transcultural interchangeability of romantic narratives.
Sunday 21 September
Paper Session Two
Winifred Glover, UlsterMuseum
Representing the Spanish Armada of 1588 in the Twenty-First Century: Or, Renaissance Romance and Tragedy in a Glass Case
This paper concerned itself with the Spanish Armada collections of the UlsterMuseum and offered a preview of exhibition practice at the museum’s re-opening, following refurbishments, in 2009. Winifred Glover stressed the human and narrative-based features of the anticipated displays, described the intended use of personal quotation and drew attention to a museum decision to point up modern parallels. The histories of excavation of the thousands of Spanish Armada objects and artifacts were rehearsed.
Jonathan Durrant, University of Glamorgan
British Identity, Historical Film and the Iniquities of Old Enemies
Jonathan Durrant’s paper discussed the place of the ‘foreigner’ in recent Anglophone films devoted to the Renaissance. He described the reception of these films in cities and the provinces, and argued for the modern contexts animating constructions of fashionabililty, arrogance and sexuality.
In discussion, Mark Thornton Burnett and Winifred Glover discussed the comparable project at the House of Lords to convert into paintings the tapestries/engravings featuring Armada scenes. The national implications of the recreation were briefly aired. Edel Lamb inquired how fact was separated from fiction in a museum setting. Winifred Glover replied by stressing the need for small historical truths or anecdotes. Claire Van Kampen asked if musical instruments had been unearthed from the Armada shipwrecks: the reply was in the negative, but there was speculation (Winifred Glover) as to why this was the case. Ramona Wray asked if it was different for the Spanish Armada objects and artifacts to be displayed in Northern Ireland (as opposed to any other national setting). Winifred Glover pointed to connections between Ireland and Spain, both early modern and modern. Mark Thornton Burnett asked about the colour scheme deployed in the films under discussion, and Jonathan Durrant replied that the exaggeration of colour belongs with the films’ ‘othering’ imperatives. It was suggested by Andrew Higson that publicity surrounding the film, Elizabeth (1988), was loathe to admit of its othering methods: in response, Claire Van Kampen remarked on the composition of the Hollywood film industry. Myth and humour were the more important driving forces, she argued. Jonathan Durrant pointed to the role of historical consultants; Claire Van Kampen noted that musical ideas were often overridden by film producers. In reflections on stereotypes, Kate Chedgzoy pointed out that stereotypes are resistant to modification because they are inherently static: they do not reflect upon actual cultural practice. Jonathan Durrant anticipated challenges to existing models. The notion of a varied stereotype was debated but put aside as an impossibility. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, Claire Van Kampen argued, Muscovite characters prove a problem to performers and directors because they are stereotypical in conception.
Paper Session Three
Claire Van Kampen,
Director of Theatre Music, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, 1996-2005
Tuckets, Tongs and Bones: A Consensus of Musical Authenticity within the Reconstructed Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
This paper examined the ‘authenticity’ of musical practice at Sam Wanamaker’s reconstructed Shakespeare’s Globe theatre on Bankside. Discussion centred on the forms of ‘original playing practices’, including early modern aesthetics, the importance of consensus, staging techniques, textual decisions, the social meanings of particular instruments, and the interpretation of musical references and directions in Shakespeare’s plays.
Kate Chedgzoy, University of Newcastle
‘Its Verry VIOLENT (Death)’: Children, Performance, and Renaissance History
The paper took three case studies to reflect upon how the Renaissance is communicated to children. Examples ranged from the 1990s’ TV series based on the nineteenth-century novel of the Civil War, The Children of the New Forest, via ‘The Terrible Tudors’, the popular stage version of one of Terry Deary’s ‘Horrible Histories’ books, to an abbreviated workshop production of Macbeth recently staged by 10 and 11 year olds in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The inherently domestic spaces represented in these narratives, it was argued, entailed a political dimension and opened up questions about conflict, crisis and nation, about children and the Renaissance, and about the category of the Renaissance itself.
Discussion centred upon the extent to which representations of the Renaissance directed at children were curriculum-inflected. Kate Chedgzoy replied that there are various ways in which the national curriculum might be accommodated. Edel Lamb asked if the representations for children were intended to ‘instruct and delight’: Kate Chedgzoy replied that there were different trends in novels and performance. ‘Were there requests for Shakespeare’s Globe music outside the Globe setting?’ Winifred Glover asked: the answer (Claire Van Kampen) was not as yet. Mark Thornton Burnett asked about the musical legacy of Shakespeare’s Globe: Claire Van Kampen referred to the joint learning experience of the Globe personnel by way of answer.
It only remained for Mark Thornton Burnett to thank the postgraduates for their sterling participation, support and contribution and the participants for their papers. In general during the symposium, discussion continued and prospered, and new networks were established over dinners, coffee, lunches and in unscheduled periods between formal events.