Framing dialogues- Towards an understanding of the Parergon in theatre.

Description

This project argues for an elevation and a greater understanding of the importance of framing in theatre. In this respect, the study follows on from Derrida's famous deconstruction of Kant's parergon (frame) in his Critique of

Judgement. Derrida's work exposes what he sees as a complicit desire to &qout;limit" the frame to the role of "decorative adjunct". Finding the frame to be

"undecidable", Derrida asserts that the frame actively affects the work inside

and the space outside while answering a "lack" within the work. Utilising Derrida's work on the parergon as a starting point, this study represents an attempt to formulate a theory of the frame for theatre asserting that the frame provides a prospective key towards understanding persistent "problems" within theatre studies. These include the complicated onstage/offstage and spectator/actor dialectics as well as the point where "reality" ends and theatre begins and also issues of agreed interpretation.

Ultimately the thesis posits that theatre is in itself a parergon which virtualises the space in which it installs itself - a finding that goes some way to explaining and/or accommodating these "problems".

The research methodology involves a detailed study of literature encompassing framing and related theories drawn from a diverse array of

paradigms. A working theory of the theatre frame, along with a series of analogous approaches is developed and further examined through application to a variety of theatre performances. This thesis offers a theory of

the theatre frame and a variety of framing research approaches that function to bridge the gap between the traditionally partitioned areas of performance analysis and reception studies. It also adds to our understanding of the frame

and the theatre art form itself.