Parrott, Jessica M. (2019) Rolling the boards : the interplay of representation and recruitment in disability casting in UK theatre and television. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The prevalence of conversations about disability casting in public discourse, and journalism, is not matched in scholarship. This is the case regarding considerations of disability in relation to performance work more generally. This thesis addresses this academic absence in the country-specific context of the UK theatre and television industries. The discussion ranges from individual conventions, such as ‘cripping up’ (Kaite O’Reilly qtd. in Komporály 2005) or ‘disability drag’ (Siebers 2004), the casting of non-disabled performers as disabled characters, to wider examinations of disability as an employment issue in theatre and television. Utilising a multidisciplinary approach, its focus rests on the interplay of productions’ representational qualities with the recruitment and labour processes behind them. It spans theatre and performance studies and disability studies, and incorporates aspects of industrial relations, combining the sociological slants on performance of Goffman (1956, 1959) and Garland-Thomson (1997, 2009), with the occupational perspective of Dean (2005, 2007, 2008a and 2008b), and humanities perspectives of Graver (1997) and Hadley (2014). This framework queries the paradox of disability’s inherent, quotidian performativity and its relative absence in professional arenas of performance.

From here, the thesis details a study situating interview contributions of disabled and non-disabled practitioners across the sectors, within text- and performance-based analysis of three shows: Touretteshero’s production of Beckett’s Not I (2017, 2018), the West End megamusical, Wicked (2006-present), and the BBC period drama, Call the Midwife (2012-present). These examinations outline the current position of disability as an employment issue in UK theatre and television, along with its place within the wider sociopolitical context. The thesis expands particularly on Dean’s (2005, 2007) positioning of professional performers as formal and informal ‘proxies’ for the public they represent, to add disability as a category in this formulation of the socioeconomic functions of performance work.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1990 Broadcasting P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN2000 Dramatic representation. The Theater
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Theater -- Casting -- Great Britain, Television programs -- Casting -- Great Britain, People with disabilities and the performing arts -- Great Britain, People with disabilities on television -- Great Britain
Official Date:	September 2019
Dates:	Date Event September 2019 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Theatre Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	McDowell, Wallace Bruce ; Dean, Deborah, 1963-
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	243 leaves
Language:	eng

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