Special Topics in Comparative Literature

This course examines the concept of holiness in Western medieval and modern theatre and performance. We start with late medieval religious theatre, especially the genre of the mystery and passion plays, in which a unique blend of scriptural source materials, religious cultural context, and daily life was at the basis of a wide-scale theatrical endeavor.  We will then move to examine the renewed interest in the concept of “holy theatre” in modernism and nowadays. Throughout the twentieth century and within an otherwise secular cultural framework, a large number of theatre theorists and experimental creators viewed the theatre as a space with the potential of evoking ritualistic and modern “holy” experiences. Such performances often exist on the threshold of holiness and profanity. Texts include The York Plays (selections, fifteenth century), Everyman (anonymous, fifteenth century), Mystery Bouffe (Mayakovsky, 1918), Akropolis (Grotowski, 1961), Dionysus in ’69 (Schechner, 1969), Bible Project (Yerushalmi, 1996/1998), The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told (Rudnick, 1998), Passion Play (Ruhl, 2003), Jerry Springer: The Opera (Thomas & Lee, 2003), and more. Classes will be accompanied by DVD excerpts of the performances discussed.