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Event
Playing with the Past - with Sean Lang
Workshop will run from - 10am - 3pm
Many theatre writers make use of the past in their writing in historical dramas, in flashbacks, or in pieces moving across time or involving characters from the past appearing in a different time. But how can we make our theatre writing about the past convincing? How do we bring the past and its people to life on the stage? And what if you dont know much about history? Or what if you do?
This is the workshop for you.
Well be looking at different ways writers can use the past in their writing. We will look at language both the language used in the past (you can conjure up a whole period with a single line) and the way in which history is itself a sort of language. Well also be working with original historical materials from the Cambridgeshire Collection to see how they can be used to create theatre and well be writing and performing them. Well also look at how playwrights can confront themes, events and language from the past that we find difficult and uncomfortable today come prepared to be challenged by people with very different thoughts and beliefs from our own.
People often complain that historical dramas are inaccurate. In this workshop, well consider the difference between accuracy and authenticity and how far the writer can go or needs to go to meet them.
If the Past is indeed a foreign country, then think of this as your passport.
Sean Lang has written a number of plays making use of the past, which have been performed by WriteOn and by Anglia Ruskin University, where he lectures in history. His work includes straight historical pieces, including a cycle of plays about the First World War, and also pieces exploring the interplay between present and past and the hold the past can have on people in the present day. His play Paper Trail, about the perils of looking into family history, has been performed in this country, in Canada, Australia and Ireland. Sean is also setting up a theatre company, Based On a True Story, which will stage pieces and events to explore the interplay between theatre and the past.
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LocationCambridge Central Library (View)
7 Lion Yard
Cambridge CB2 3QD
United Kingdom
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
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Contact
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