2. Site-specific theatre
 “ Theatre and performance that is grounded in an in-depth
exploration and expression of spatial practice.”(Tompkins,
2012)
 “Continues to provoke questions about what both performance
and site convey” (Tompkins ,2012)
 “Produce unique circus theatre experiences in a wide variety of
unusual locations, from circus big tops and traditional theatres
to site specific and promenade performances in disused
industrial and historical buildings.”
 “Upon the complex coexistence, […] interpenetration of a
number of narratives and architectures” (Tompkins, 2012)
Pictures: http://www.invisiblecircus.co.uk

3. Space in performance
 Space in performance is both physical and an imaginary
context
 Imaginary spaces: “Communities are largely regarded as a
cultural resource for social space, […] as imaginary spaces,
communities have the potential to mediate between the
everyday […] narratives of the individuals and more formal and
established structures of power.” (Govan, et al., 2007)
 Theatre that is devised in community situations may be
similarly concerned with the representation of memory,
and participants are invited to recognize […] narratives
have social, communication and historical significance as
well as personal relevance. (Govan, et al., 2007)

4. Space in performance
(cont.)
 Physical performance space: found and authentic spaces;
environmental theatre
 “Some experiments in environmental theatre invited the
audience to enter the performance space, and become cocreators of illusion; others transferred the performance from a
theatre to an appropriate „authentic‟ found space, generating
yet another level of pretense.” (Wiles in Govan, et al., 2007)
 “environmental theatre works through creating a sense of „living
in‟” (Govan, et al., 2007)

5. Working Men‟s Clubs
 Working men‟s clubs originated in the 19th century
and were especially popular in places such as the
Midlands and the Welsh Valleys, areas that are
mainly populated with working class families.
 Used for recreational use and at first to help educate
working men‟s families, they had a main room called
„The Vault‟ and a second larger room called „The
Entertainment Room‟. (Working men‟s club, 2013)

6. Working Men‟s Clubs
(cont.)
 Men would apply and purchase memberships for
them and their families and in recent time Working
Men‟s Clubs have seen a major decline in their
memberships and a lot have therefore closed.
 “The working men‟s club […] was to be a salvation of
a class, a haven of sobriety, where working men
could be weaned from the temptations of a public
house” (Taylor, 1972)

7. http://www.filmoffice.co.uk/media/91397/Working-mens-club-film-location-film-office-location-library-stage.jpg

8. Cabaret: Context & history
 The cabarets (bars) were visited mainly by working class
people. It was a form of escapism for people who were
struggling at the time of the economic downfall
 Cabaret is set in the beginning of the Nazi regime in
Germany; anti-Semitism and violence raging throughout
the country
 Nazi beliefs were about eradicating the world of anybody
“impure”; the cabaret enthused the idea of difference and
went against everything the Nazis stood for. (A Brief
History, 2003)

9. Cabaret: Context & History
(cont.)

“Cabaret has something to say about the glittering, globalization shadows
casting desperation and destitution all over the world.” (Bhabha in Miraval,
2010)

“Harold Prince, the director of the original Broadway production, was
inspired by a cabaret performance he saw in 1951, while stationed with
the army in Stuttgart. "There was a dwarf emcee, hair parted in the middle
and lacquered down with brilliantine, his mouth made into a bright red
cupid's bow, who wore heavy false eyelashes and sang, danced, goosed,
tickled, and pawed four lumpen Valkyres waving diaphanous butterfly
wings." Sixteen years later, Joel Grey would turn that image into one of
the most memorable characters in the history of musical theatre. Cabaret
is thus not just a play exploring the limits of debauchery and oppression,
but also a tribute to a theatrical event at the apex of its popularity.” (A Brief
History, 2003)

10. Cabaret: Escapism
 “In the 1870s and the early 1880s the politically
minded working man found his natural habitat in the
club […] their members can almost be seen to form
a community within a community because so many
aspects of working class life revolved round the
club.” (Shipley, 1983)
 “Sally represents the people who keep their eyes
shut to changes in the world around them […]
Cabaret as a cautionary morality play has
tremendous resonance” (Miller, 1996)

11. Cabaret: Escapism (cont.)
 Leave your troubles outside! So – life is
disappointing? Forget it! We have no troubles here!
Here life is beautiful… (Ebb, 1966)
 “a show in which the story is secondary to a central
message” (Miller, 1996)

12. Production concepts
 The characters as white British males and females.
“There was a time when everyone always played the
emcee like Joel Grey. Now everyone always plays it like
Alan Cumming” (Silverber in Filichia, 2007)
 Sound/acoustics in the performance space
 Moving the audience
 Light and dark symbolism + the use of lighting design
 Choreography + limitations within the space

13. Bibliography
A Brief History of Cabaret. (2003). Retrieved November 23, 2013, from Hartnell College website:
http://www.hartnell.cc.ca.us/westernstage/press_releases/CABARET/Cab_suppplement.htm
Ebb, F. 1996. Cabaret [Libretto].
Govan, E., Nicholson. H., & Normington, K. (2007). Making a Performance: Devising Histories
and
Contemporary Practices. New York: Routlege.
Filichia, P. (2007). Let’s Put on a Musical: how to choose the right show for your theater. New
York:
Backstage.
Miller, S. (1996). From Assassins to West Side Story: The Director’s Guide to Musical Theatre.
Portsmouth:
Heinemann.
Miraval, N. (2010). The History, Music and Life of Cabaret. Retrieved November 23, 2012, from
The
Harvard Crimson website:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/9/21/show-cabaret-palmer-more/
Pavis, P. (1998). Dictionary of Theatre: Terms, Concepts and Analysis. Toronto: University of
Toronto
Press.
Shipley, S. (1983). Club Life and Socialism in Mid-Victorian London. London: Journeyman.
Taylor, J. (1972). From Self Help to Glamour. Working Men’s Clubs 1860-1972. Oxford: History
Workshop.
Tompkins, J. (2012). Performing Site-Specific Theatre: Politics, Place, Practice. Palgrave
Macmillan
Working men‟s club. (2013.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 14, 2013, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_men‟s_club