Playing in the Dark: Possession and Performance

Dean, Robert (2018) Playing in the Dark: Possession and Performance. In: Contemporary gothic drama: attraction, consummation and consumption on the modern British stage. Palgrave Gothic . Palgrave, pp. 201-221. ISBN 9781349953592

Full content URL: https://palgrave.com/9781349953592

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Playing in the Dark: Possession and Performance

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Abstract

Using the Enfield Poltergeist as its central case study this chapter will focus on the performance of possession. It will explore the renderings of possession which this performance resonated with (i.e. The Exorcist, 1973) and those it gave rise to (i.e. The Conjuring 2, 2016). The material considered connects the Enfield Poltergeist with the theatricality of nineteenth-century séances and tropes of Gothic literature. This work also intercedes with concepts such as Freud’s ‘double’, Winnicott’s ‘transitional object’, Goffman’s ‘frames’ and Schenchner’s ‘dark play’.

Keywords:performance, possession, poltergeist, Freud’s ‘double’, Winnicott’s ‘transitional object’, Goffman’s ‘frames’, Schenchner’s ‘dark play’, séances, nineteenth-century, gothic
Subjects:C Biological Sciences > C800 Psychology
W Creative Arts and Design > W400 Drama
P Mass Communications and Documentation > P303 Film studies
W Creative Arts and Design > W310 Musicianship/Performance studies
W Creative Arts and Design > W440 Theatre studies
Divisions:College of Arts > School of Fine & Performing Arts > School of Fine & Performing Arts (Performing Arts)
ID Code:35372
Deposited On:08 Apr 2019 11:29

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