I’m a happy bunny. A happy, happy bunny that’s metaphorically frolicking through fields of joy and wonderment, surrounded by rainbows and unicorns and lots of other happy things.
I’m a happy bunny because I GOT FUNDING TO DO A PHD AT THE SHAKESPEARE INSTITUTE! YAAAAAAAAAY!
As you might be able to ascertain, I’m a tad pleased and excited.
What’s my PhD about?
Over the past few days, I’ve been trying to find a succinct way to explain exactly what it is that I’ll be researching. I have a long and complicated project title that tends to leave people more confused than they were before I started talking, and it usually then takes me a good few minutes to explain the context and aims of the project before it all makes sense.
My Project Title
Beyond the Globe: Non-Authentic Representations of Elizabethan England in 21st Century Stage Design for Shakespeare
A bit of a mouthful, right?
So, to try and boil my project down into something that’s a little more straightforward, I decided to convert it into comic strip form. Here it is:
Essentially, my thesis will explore how and why Shakespeare plays have recently been staged with an aesthetic reminiscent of Elizabethan England, and to what effect. I’ll analyse around 10 specific productions that’ve taken place at theatres including the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, Rose Theatre Kingston, and Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre since 1997, and combine archival research with personal interviews to come up with some (hopefully) interesting conclusions about this trend in stage design for Shakespeare.
Here are a few of the productions I’m particularly interested in at the moment:
And here are some of the books on my Amazon wishlist…
I fully intend to own some Elizabethan/Tudor clothing by the time I graduate in 2019!
What next for my blog?
I’m planning to use the next few months to gear up for starting my PhD in September. I’m already in the process of getting more organised (just wait until you see my new Filofax setup in my next post – it’s my new best friend!), and I’m on a mission to find my ultimate workspace. Nerdy Exciting stuff! I also hope to start writing design-focused reviews whenever I go and see stuff at the theatre – something I’ve been wanting to do for a while – and I’ll be sharing it all here on a pretty regular basis.
Watch this space!
Ella Hawkins 