Performing Massacre

Christopher Marlowe's The Massacre at Paris, a play which probably dates from 1592 but has reached posterity in a mangled form, enacts the incorporation of religious and state politics in the theatre. Through a sequence of short scenes characterized by senseless brutality and black humor, Marlowe revisits one of the darkest episodes of French history, the Saint Bartholomew‘s Day Massacre, which took place on the 24th and 25th August 1572. Dramatizing the slaughter of thousands of Protestants by Catholics, the play not only reflects on the significance of massacre as a political term for an increasingly absolutist Renaissance Europe but also translates the violence of massacre into aesthetic form. Itself alien within the body of Marlowe’s dramatic works, The Massacre at Paris has rarely been performed after its Elizabethan successful performances at the Rose; this is not surprising given the state of the extant text and its dismissal by many critics as crude anti-Catholic propaganda. Yet, the Massacre's corrupt and incomplete form, political ambiguities and emphasis on theatrical violence have inspired two contemporary artists, the French director Guillaume Delaveau and the Austrian composer Wolfgang Mitterer, to rethink and revive it. Both Delaveau's Massacre à Paris, first performed at Toulouse in 2007 and Mitterer's experimental opera Massacre, composed in 2003 and performed in 2008 and 2010 in France, refer to recent wars and atrocities and rejoice in the irony of the play. This paper seeks to investigate the play's ability to convey political thought and provoke contemporary audiences by reading it together with Delaveau and Mitterer's adaptations. The challenge of reworking the Massacre for our age involves the question of the theatre's potential to expose the audience to the horror of history

How Digital Scenography and Images Affect the Visual Spectacle in a Site-Specific Choreographic Installation

The aims of the research project were to gain a better understanding of digital scenography, mainly in the field of dance as used by recent choreographers, to create an experimental, improvisatory dance performance. This was eventually entitled Απεραντοσύνη/ Vastness, and successfully staged in a non-theatre installation space at the Attic, University of Hertfordshire, on September 16, 2016. The three main research questions are: Can a narrative, as represented by images in a projected animation, be a chorographic tool? Is it possible to combine projected animation with projected interactive motion generated images successfully for developing improvisatory dance performances in non-theatre spaces? And if so, can this combination also be a choreographic tool? The thesis of the project is that firstly, despite the apparent lack of historical precedents, it would be possible to combine scripted animations and un-scripted interactively generated graphics successfully in a dance performance project, presenting a decorative and aesthetic enhancement to the visual spectacle of the performance. Secondly, that such use could also be identified as a valuable choreographic tool for the development of improvisatory dance performances in non-theatre spaces. This dissertation analyses the historical, theoretical and practical processes of developing Απεραντοσύνη/ Vastness. It concludes that all of the questions have been given positive answers and these support the thesis

Celebrating 50 years of the VCLT: the legal reasoning of investment arbitration awards: a decision-making perspective on interpretation

When analysing the process of legal decision-making what might first come to mind is the dichotomy between the interpretation and the application of the law. These terms, in some circumstances, may be employed interchangeably due to the strong link that exists between them. Indeed, jurisdictional clauses in investment treaties refer cumulatively to “disputes over the interpretation or application of the treaty” giving the impression of creating a “portmanteau category” [Franklin Berman, ‘International Treaties and British Statutes’ (2005) 26 StatuteLRev 1, 10.] that may not require the competent tribunal to distinguish the one from the other. However, this distinction is important as it creates two linked but functionally separate spheres

Exploring the Function of the Female Lamenter in the Bereavement Process: A Case Study in Chios Island

Lamentation dates back to ancient Greece and has survived through the centuries primarily as an exclusive tradition of women. It can be described as a controlled performative act of memory and mourning that has been closely associated with all stages of the death rituals. Nowadays it is a ritual performed in just a handful of Greek villages. The present study focuses on a 91-year-old female lamenter from Mesta, a village in Chios Island. The function of her role as a female lamenter in the bereavement process of self and others is examined through biographical narrative interviews. Biographical narrative analysis, as a tool to explore and gain insight about a human experience, allows for a closer investigation of the lamentation experience; it does so by reaching back in time through establishing a narrative connection to the role of the lamenter and interpreting her function within the bereavement process of self and others. Following a thematic analysis of the narration, it appears that the lamenter, through the semi-structured and semi-improvised moiroloi, becomes the bridge between the living and the dead, communicates the pain, expresses the inner tension and, as a result, may facilitate the mourner to reach catharsis

Interviews with our editors: in conversation with Hafez Virjee, President of Delos Dispute Resolution

Delos provides a solution starting from the contract-making stage through to the issuing of the final award in case of arbitration. Why and how does Delos distinguish itself from existing options? How is the need for accessible and effective arbitration for disputes, in the EUR 0-10 million range particularly, addressed by Delos

Introduction: The difficulty of unbinding Hellenism

No abstract (available)

Some Thoughts on the Trails and Travails of Hellenism and Orientalism: An Interview with Gonda Van Steen

No abstract availabl

Introduction: The difficulty of unbinding Hellenism

No abstract (available)