Wyver, J. 2014. 'All the trimmings'? The transfer of theatre to television in adaptations of Shakespeare stagings. Adaptation. 7 (2), pp. 104-120. https://doi.org/10.1093/adaptation/apu020
| Title | 'All the trimmings'? The transfer of theatre to television in adaptations of Shakespeare stagings |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Wyver, J. |
| Abstract | Since 1937, almost fifty British television productions of Shakespeare have been adapted from specific theatre stagings. This article surveys the history of these transmissions of previously staged performances of Shakespeare. It outlines the changing ways in which these adaptations have been important to television and it explores ideas about their status and effectivity. It argues that rather than being seen simply as ‘documentation’ and as the inferior traces of theatrical originals, these productions might more productively be regarded as doubled adaptations. That is, they can be understood as adaptations for the screen of a text—a staging of a Shakespeare play—that was previously, as a staged performance, an adaptation in itself. The interplay between the televisual, theatrical, and cinematic elements of these adaptations is considered and the history is set within in the context of the rapidly developing contemporary form of live cinema, exemplified by National Theatre Live and Live from Stratford-upon-Avon, which recreates as spectacle in a social context many of the approaches and concerns of television’s adaptations of Shakespeare stagings. |
| Journal | Adaptation |
| Journal citation | 7 (2), pp. 104-120 |
| ISSN | 1755-0637 |
| Year | 2014 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1093/adaptation/apu020 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published in print | Aug 2014 |
| Published online | 21 Jul 2014 |