Rights statement: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=NTQ The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, New Theatre Quarterly, 18 (3), pp 211-221 2002, © 2002 Cambridge University Press.
Final published version, 264 KB, PDF document
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Double acts, theatrical couples, and Split Britches' 'Double Agency'
AU - Harris, Geraldine
N1 - http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=NTQ The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, New Theatre Quarterly, 18 (3), pp 211-221 2002, © 2002 Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2002/8
Y1 - 2002/8
N2 - In 2001 Split Britches presented a double bill entitled Double Agency, consisting of one new piece, Miss Risque, and one already in their repertoire, It's a Small House and We've Lived in It Always--both works having been created in collaboration with the Cold Ensemble. In this article, Geraldine Harris re-stages her earlier encounter with Small House, in the light of seeing it again as part of the double bill, as a means of examining a number of issues concerning the work of Split Britches in general and its reception in the academic world. particular consideration is given to the manner in which Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver's performances have been read in terms of their 'real' lives and relationship and the various ways in which this may reflect the preconceptions of the spectator-critic. Focusing on how their work reiterates specific theatrical traditions and conventions, Harris suggests that utopian tendencies in academic feminist criticism may have underplayed the ways in which, like many famous theatrical double acts, Split Britches constantly perform on the border--between tragedy and comedy, optimism and despair, fantasy and the possible, escape and entrapment.
AB - In 2001 Split Britches presented a double bill entitled Double Agency, consisting of one new piece, Miss Risque, and one already in their repertoire, It's a Small House and We've Lived in It Always--both works having been created in collaboration with the Cold Ensemble. In this article, Geraldine Harris re-stages her earlier encounter with Small House, in the light of seeing it again as part of the double bill, as a means of examining a number of issues concerning the work of Split Britches in general and its reception in the academic world. particular consideration is given to the manner in which Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver's performances have been read in terms of their 'real' lives and relationship and the various ways in which this may reflect the preconceptions of the spectator-critic. Focusing on how their work reiterates specific theatrical traditions and conventions, Harris suggests that utopian tendencies in academic feminist criticism may have underplayed the ways in which, like many famous theatrical double acts, Split Britches constantly perform on the border--between tragedy and comedy, optimism and despair, fantasy and the possible, escape and entrapment.
U2 - 10.1017/S0266464X02000301
DO - 10.1017/S0266464X02000301
M3 - Journal article
VL - 18
SP - 211
EP - 221
JO - New Theatre Quarterly
JF - New Theatre Quarterly
SN - 0266-464X
IS - 3
ER -