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Theatre & Ghosts

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lightbulbAbout this topic
Theatre & Ghosts is an interdisciplinary field of study that explores the representation, symbolism, and cultural significance of ghosts within theatrical performances. It examines how spectral themes influence narrative structures, character development, and audience engagement, as well as the historical and social contexts that shape these portrayals in various theatrical traditions.
lightbulbAbout this topic
Theatre & Ghosts is an interdisciplinary field of study that explores the representation, symbolism, and cultural significance of ghosts within theatrical performances. It examines how spectral themes influence narrative structures, character development, and audience engagement, as well as the historical and social contexts that shape these portrayals in various theatrical traditions.

Key research themes

1. How have theatrical techniques and technologies shaped the representation and perception of ghosts on stage?

This research theme explores the evolution of theatrical methods and apparatuses used to create ghostly illusions and spectral effects in theatre, from early stage makeup and costumes to complex mechanical devices like Pepper's Ghost. It investigates how these material techniques both reflect and shape audience perceptions of ghosts, connecting technological advances, cultural notions of reality, and theatrical aesthetics.

Key finding: This paper systematically traces the material culture behind stage ghosts, detailing the use of mechanical apparatuses, luminous materials, projections, and reflections (e.g., phantasmagoria, the Corsican trap, Pepper’s... Read more
Key finding: By situating ghosts firmly within theatre history and cultural studies, this volume comprehensively argues that ghosts on stage have served as instruments to interrogate epistemology, ontology, and political memory. It... Read more
Key finding: The study illuminates how early to mid-20th century American 'midnight ghost shows' combined spiritualist séance traditions and stage magic, employing live illusions synchronized with filmic horror spectacles to produce... Read more

2. How do ghosts on stage embody and express cultural anxieties related to modernity, memory, and trauma?

This theme investigates ghosts as theatrical figures signifying broader social and psychological concerns, especially relating to modernity's ontological uncertainties, traumatic memory, political repression, and cultural identity. It addresses how ghosts function metaphorically and dramatically to expose the uncanny, reveal suppressed histories, or articulate postmodern suspicion toward grand narratives, especially within Anglo-American theatre.

Key finding: The collection elucidates that ghosts on stage operate as metaphors for trauma, social violence, and suppressed histories, linking theatrical spectrality with cultural memory and identity politics. It argues that stage ghosts... Read more
Key finding: This analysis connects the historical performance of spiritualist séances to evolving cultural narratives surrounding the supernatural in theatre, showing how contemporary seance scenes negotiate between gothic anxieties and... Read more
Key finding: This study highlights the epistemological tensions of ghost visibility on stage in Early Modern English theatre, emphasizing how the theatrical mediation of ghosts enacts cultural grappling with boundaries between reality,... Read more

3. What role do ghost performances play in embodying identity, memory, and agency within live theatre, and how do performers negotiate this?

Focusing on the actor's and audience's embodied experience, this theme explores how ghosts in live performance facilitate reflection on selfhood, intergenerational memory, and cultural subjectivity. It examines the rehearsal practices, psychophysical engagement, and performative strategies that link ghosts to the materiality of the body and collective memory, emphasizing phenomenological and affective dimensions in ghost-related theatre work.

Key finding: Drawing from collaborative performance projects, this reflective talk foregrounds the psychosomatic relationship between body, memory, and ghostly presence in live art. It argues that revisiting one's past work with ghosts... Read more
Key finding: This work develops a phenomenological framework for understanding ghost performances in haunted spaces, positing that meaningful paranormal investigation and ghost acting depend on situating experiences within specific... Read more
Key finding: This paper analyzes stage ghosts in the plays of Edward Bond and Sarah Kane as crucial devices that mediate between character psychosis and audience engagement. It theorizes ghosts as manifestations that restore a material... Read more

All papers in Theatre & Ghosts

Research into Nazi propaganda often focuses on the regime’s self-presentations. This underestimates its diversity and potential effectiveness. The analysis of the “Kohlenklau” (Coal theft)-campaign, which began in late 1942, underscores... more
Abkürzungsverzeichnis PEER FRIESS/DIETMAR SCHIERSNER Einführung. Ressourcenkonflikte als Zugriff auf die Geschichte des Bauernkriegs I. Rahmenbedingungen in Süddeutschland 1450-1550 CHRISTIAN PFISTER Wärme, Kälte und eine angesagte... more
This paper explores the complexities of bringing the imaginative extremes of magical realism to the physical realm of the stage. Magical realism famously challenges the reader by demanding not just a suspension of belief but also a... more
Gefährlich, ungezähmt und unzugänglich erscheint der Wald in den im 19. Jahrhundert verschriftlichten Sagen. So wild waren die Waldlandschaften Thüringens jedoch auch schon vor rund 200 Jahren nicht mehr. Vermessen und kartiert, wurde der... more
Was kann eine Re-Lektüre ausgewählter Schriften von Christopher Balme zu einer Standortbestimmung der Theaterwissenschaften beitragen? Die Beiträger*innen stützen sich auf wichtige Impulse des renommierten Theaterwissenschaftlers und... more
Das zeitgenössische Theater zeichnet sich durch eine große Heterogenität der Ästhetiken, Traditionen und Zielrichtungen aus. Mit der Perspektive auf eine internationale Ästhetik stellt sich die Frage nach Gemeinsamkeiten und Differenzen... more
provided further occasions for thinking about the Gothic, technology and the contemporary ubiquity of ghosts. The Gothic season at the BFI in 2013 was especially thought-provoking and we express our gratitude to Roger Luckhurst and... more
A horse skeleton, adorned with a live decorationand no rider. As for whether the Gift Horse is a memorial or a monument, if you like, you can take it as a tribute to the City, the Wall Street of London." 1 Hans Haacke, 27. Februar 2015... more
Theodor Körner (1797-1813) gehörte zu den wichtigsten ‚Stiftern' der kulturellen Tradition des deutschen Nationalismus. An dieser Stelle kann auf Details der bislang noch unzureichend erforschten Rezeption nicht eingegangen werden. 2 Es... more
Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über <http://dnb.dnb.de>... more
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