| dc.description.abstract | The COVID-19 pandemic has caused enormous disruptions to the world. As places of social gatherings, theatre venues worldwide were closed for a significant period of time. Deprived of physical proximity with the audience, theatre makers resorted to the Internet and presented numerous online works. The pandemic, inducing an existential crisis for theatre, prompted an urgent need and an opportunity to re-examine theatre and its relationship with digital media. This thesis seeks to contribute to this re-examination and evaluate the pandemic’s impact on theatre through the lens of the theatrical frame, which concerns how an event is constructed and perceived as a theatrical performance. By examining pandemic theatre from the angle of framing, this thesis also foregrounds the theatrical frame as an umbrella term; this research aims to synthesise various discussions in theatre studies regarding framing devices and mechanisms, and to investigate the correlation between theatrical approaches and mediatisation strategies in mediatised performances. It investigates how artists adapted theatrical conventions and mechanisms to digital media in the pandemic through three representative case studies, Telephone (2020) by Coney, The Tempest (2020) by Creation Theatre and Big Telly, and To Be a Machine (Version 1.0) (2020) by Dead Centre.
The thesis comprises seven chapters. The introduction traces the journey of the adaptation of my research in response to the pandemic, and outlines the research questions, methodology and thesis structure. The second chapter elaborates the theoretical frameworks, i.e. the theatrical frame, online theatre and adaptation, to set the ground for analyses in subsequent chapters. Chapter 3 presents the context of the pandemic and theatre-related restrictions, and provides an overview of online performance from March 2020 to the summer of 2021, with a focus on the UK. Chapter 4 analyses how framing conventions are adapted in Telephone to digital media under restricting conditions during the pandemic. Chapter 5 examines the correlation between theatrical framing mechanisms and mediatisation strategies by comparing The Tempest and To Be a Machine. Chapter 6 further explores the different approaches in these two productions in relation to COVID theatre conventions, revealing divergent stances towards digital media and live theatre during the pandemic. By assessing COVID online theatre’s status as a qualified medium, this chapter examines its disruption of the theatrical frame, and evaluates the pandemic’s impact on performance-making and reception, as well as the legacy of COVID theatre. The conclusion presents the findings concerning the theatrical frame, pandemic theatre, and the digital adaptation of the frame in the case studies; it also summarises this research’s contribution to knowledge. | en_GB |
