Module Identifier DR31230  
Module Title 17TH CENTURY NEO-CLASSICAL FRENCH AND ENGLISH RESTORATION THEATRE  
Academic Year 2004/2005  
Co-ordinator Mr Richard A D Cheshire  
Semester Semester 2  
Other staff Miss Kelly Victoria Jones, Ms Patricia A Rhodes  
Course delivery Lecture   10 x 1 hour  
  Other   Seminars/Practicals 10 x 2 hour  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam2 Hours  40%
Semester Assessment 1 x 2500 word essay  30%
Semester Assessment Practical presentation30%

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:


Aims

the aims of the module are to:

Brief description

This module is available to both second and third year Drama students.

This module examines key 17th Century Neo-classical French and English Restoration play-texts and investigates their social, political, historical and theatrical contexts. Typically, lectures and seminars will examine topics such as: the conventions and practices of the seventeenth century French and English playhouses; French neo- classical dramatic theory; influences on the English Restoration playwrights; Bergson's theory of comedy; a study of selected English and French playwrights and a detailed study of key texts; the interpretation of these texts for modern theatre audiences; twentieth-century revivals and the production choices made for significant productions. During the practical classes students will focus specifically on the challenges facing the modern actor/actress when interpreting texts from page to stage in contemporary performance conditions.

For information on due dates for submission of assessed work, please refer
to the departmental web pages at http://www.aber.ac.uk/tfts/duedates.shtml

Reading Lists

Books
** Essential Reading
Racine 'Phedre', 'Andromache' and 'Britannicus'
Wycherley 'The Country Wife' and 'The Plain Dealer'
Farquhar, George The Relapse New Mermaids
Etherege 'The Man of Mode' and 'She Would if she Could'
Moliere 'L'ecole des Femmes', 'Les Misanthrop' and 'Tartuffe'
Congreve 'The Double Dealer' and 'The Way of the World'
Behn The Rover
** Recommended Background
Arnott, P (1977) An Introduction to French Theatre London: Macmillan Press
Bergson, H. (1921) Laughter Bereton and Rothwell
Mallinson, G.J. (1984) The Comedies of Pierre Corneille: experiments in the comic Manchester: Manchester University Press
Master, Anthony (1992) The Play of Personality in Restoration Comedy Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press
Turnell, Martin (1964) The Classical Moment London: Hamish Hamilton
Calder, Andrew (1993) Moliere: the theory and practice of comedy London Atlantic Highlands: Athlone Press
Callow, Simon (1991) Acting in Restoration Comedy Applause Theatre Books
Canfield, J. Douglas (1997) Tricksters and Estates: on the Ideology of Restoration Comedy Lexington: University of Kentucky Press
Carmody, James Patrick (1993) Rereading Moliere: mise en scene from Antoine to Vitez University of Michigan Press
Clark, Max Stafford (1990) Letters to George - An account of a rehearsal Nick Hearn Books
Fisk, Deborah Payne (Ed) (2000) The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre Cambridge University Press
Loftis, John (1966) Restoration Drama Oxford University Press
Lough, J. (1979) Seventeenth Century French Drama - The Background Oxford University Press
Powell, Jocelyn (1984) Restoration Theatre Production London: Routledge and Kegan Paul
Styan, J. L. (1986) Restoration Comedy in Performance Cambridge University Press
Thomas, David (Ed) (1989) Restoration and Georgian England, 1660 to 1788. Theatre in Europe: a Documentary History Cambridge University Press
Owen, Susan J. (1996) Restoration Theatre and Crisis Oxford: Clarendon Press

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6