Manifestations of systemic trauma in British Theatre

Abstract

In 2012, Patrick Duggan introduced the notion of trauma-tragedy, a mode of performance ‘acutely concerned with addressing the traumatic’ (7). Working with the theories of feminist psychologists, my research first reconsiders the parameters of ‘trauma’ in contemporary culture as represented in contemporary British theatre works, categorising a mode of performance that addresses representations of systemic trauma. This type of trauma is understood through Goldsmith, Martin, & Smith’s broader definition, which perceives the ‘contextual features of environments and institutions that give rise to trauma, maintain it, and impact posttraumatic responses’ (2014:117). I contend that the perceived cultural value of this mode of performance may obscure or decentre the urgency of distinguishing performance-making environments themselves as vulnerable to systemic trauma.

The #MeToo movement made public the prevalence of bullying, harassment, and sexual abuse in British theatre. This thesis frames this context as ‘traumarchic’ (Atkinson, 2018), a term that acknowledges the ‘endemic trauma’ which arises because of patriarchy and its systems (7). Consequently, my work introduces the need to focus on ‘proto performance’ environments as defined by Schechner as ‘the hidden portion of a performance’ (2017: 225-6). This is the liminal space where choices are made, the ‘starting point’ for ideas and artistic decisions (226).

Using a ‘proto performance’ methodology that draws upon scholarship from performance studies, cultural studies, feminism, and trauma studies, this thesis investigates ways that systemic trauma manifests in both on and off staff contexts in contemporary British theatre. Data collection from autoethnography, existing quantitative and qualitative research, documentations of proto performance process, and interview materials allow an investigation into performance making and its culture over time, and this is shown to be important to scrutinising how a culture of bullying harassment came to be, and ways that we might address it.

Date of Award	30 Apr 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Northumbria University
Supervisor	Patrick Duggan (Supervisor) & Rachel Hann (Supervisor)