Melodrama or Not Melodrama?
The most popular form of theatre in Britain in the late 19th century was Melodrama. This genre is “concerned with externals, placing the emphasis on situation and the expense of motivation and characterisation” (Allingham). Melodrama is a type of play that uses stereotyped or stock characters, has a fast moving, high-stakes plot, impressive spectacle and uses music to set mood and elicit emotion (Deboer, 21). In many ways Dublin by Lamplight fits into this model. Elements of stock characterisation can be seen in characters like Martyn the Dandy, Maggie the heroine, Willy the hero, and even Nobbs the villainous hotel manager. Certainly the use of masks in the original production indicates a connection to commedia del’arte and its tradition of archetypal characters. Dublin by Lamplight’s plot is also episodic and fast moving and the scenes are short and convey a lot of information. The stakes are also high – Eva’s political activism, Frank’s plan and the fate of a National Theatre all hang in the balance. Dublin by Lamplight can even fit the categories for spectacle if you take into account that a production with actor’s quickly leaping in and out of character as a form of spectacle. The music that drives the emotion of a melodrama is provided by the self-narration the actor’s do for the people they play. Each character in has his or her own theme or motif through this narration. However, for all the ways Dublin by Lamplight follows the guidelines of the genre is also subverts them. Melodrama is also a genre that “…always sides with the powerless” (Vicinus, 174), were virtue always defeats villainy and there is a happy ending. This is not the case in Dublin by Lamplight. Initially, the play is on the side of the powerless supporting the Nationalist cause with Frank’s scheme and allowing for the possibility of the creation of a National Theatre. However, the theatre fails and Frank’s plan does not go as planned creating more powerlessness. In the end the death of Willy and the abandonment of Maggie do not allow virtue to triumph or for a happy ending. By adhering to most of the Melodramatic structure Michael West is better able to draw attention to the places, and events, that happen outside of the guidelines. The audience thinks they know what they are watching and where they are going to end up because the theatrical cues are set up for them, so when the play starts to veer from the intended path those are the moments that the audience ends up remembering.- Ashley Williamson
Modernizing Ancient Theatrical Conventions
The phallic symbol was commonly used in Commedia dell’arte, one of the theatrical styles employed in Dublin by Lamplight. It’s use isn’t blatant and it’s comic value in Lamplight is certainly questionable, but Cuchulain‘s spear and Frank’s dynamite are modern signifiers of masculine power and violence. For more on this topic, see Weaponry and Symbolism HERE. 
The Phallus in Commedia: Painting disowned by an unknown author at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Image SourceNote: The character on the right carries a spear representing a phallus much like Irish mythical hero Cuchulain. In modern theatre the phallic symbol (Franks dynamite sticks) are hidden in his leather bag. -Stephen Sullivan
Contributions of Commedia dell’Arte
“More than any other, the Commedia dell’Arte is the genre of theatre that expresses the present as it moves.”- Antonio Fava.
Commedia dell’Arte is an independent theatre form that incorporates and combines various aspects of mime, dance, pantomime, circus and mask. An art form that flourished in sixteenth and seventeenth century Italian theatre, the translation of the term “arte” highlights the distinctive characteristics of Commedia dell’Arte as: “the professional character of improvised theatre” (Fava).While it is important to recognize elements of Commedia within Dublin by Lamplight, it is also necessary to note the differences. Dublin by Lamplight is not strictly a Commedia dell’Arte based play. Michael West incorporates elements of Commedia, with emphasis on the use of Commedia – type masks and social themes, but strays from the conventional improvisational structure. In traditional Commedia theatre, each character had coded costumes, gestures, stage business, and a repertoire of frequently used phrases; therefore, characters became easily identifiable by the audience, and the actors’ improvisational duties were simplified. Dublin by Lamplight does not use these elements; the scripted characters are unique to their story and are not bounded by codes of action.
Although Dublin by Lamplight does not utilize conventional stock characters, it incorporates traditional archetypes, which is emphasized through the use of Commedia masks: “In putting human behaviour into a mask, gazing at the audience becomes no longer an action of that individual character but rather a representation of the human behaviour that goes with the genre of the character” (Fava). Knowledge of stock characters is essential in accurately portraying the universal, relatable behaviour that the specified character embodies. This aspect of universality of behaviour is furthered by West’s decision to cast six actors to play the thirty-character play; it is not necessarily the individual, but that which the individual represents that is of true importance to the message of the play. Each archetypal character serves to enhance the messages and themes of Commedia, which are consistent with those explored in Dublin by Lamplight.
The themes stressed throughout Commedia’s history have been consistently human and in accordance with themes appearing throughout Dublin by Lamplight: love, money, sex, possession, hunger, war, fear and death. Characterizing Commedia dell’Arte, Fava states, “Above all, for every single character, always and everywhere, is the theme of all themes: the permanent emergency of survival itself, here and now, this minute, this moment, this second.” Frank fights for the survival of Ireland, Willy fights for personal and financial survival, and Maggie fights to sustain a dying relationship. In this alone, one of the central themes of Dublin by Lamplight- the emergency for survival – is shown to be in accordance with the theme of the improvisational nature of Commedia dell’Arte.
- Kristin Greczko
Meaning of Masks
“A society which believes it has dispensed with masks can only be a society in which masks, more powerful than ever before, the better to deceive men, will themselves be masked.” – Efrat Tseelon
Commedia masks are the main element of Commedia dell’Arte employed by Dublin by Lamplight; the practical and metaphorical nature of these masks possess cultural qualities and implications, while representing a potential, individualistic power within a collective society, such as the one that exists within Dublin by Lamplight. As Dublin by Lamplight borrows the employment of masks from Commedia, while not fully adapting the Commedia dell’Arte style of theatre, it is important to question why this choice was made. “Whatever shade of meaning of masquerade one chooses to employ, it is obvious that through dialectic of concealing and revealing, masquerade serves a critical function. It calls attention to such fundamental issues as the nature of identity, the truth of identity, the stability of identity categories and the relationship between the supposed identity and its outward manifestations (or essence and appearance)” (Tseelon, 3). As the play progresses, characters’ truths are revealed, not only to the audience but to the other characters in the play as well. Dublin by Lamplight highlights the notion of appearance versus reality and character assumptions; these traits are emphasized through the use of masks as a means of questioning individual nature and societal assumptions.
Masks are culturally specific: “In spite of the evidence and the argument in favour of the universality of the mask, the meaning of masks is contextually bound and depends on the use” (Tseelon, 19). In a political and socially bound play, such as Dublin by Lamplight, this is an important realization on both a directorial and production level. Although the masks mimic those of Commedia dell’Arte, they are not reconstructions; the masks used in Dublin by Lamplight must be contextually specific to the message of the play in order to produce the desired effect.
Masks of Commedia. 2007. Philisophical Stages: Masks. Stanford University. 1 Feb. 2008
These traditional Commedia dell’Arte masks can be compared to those masks employed in previous production of Dublin by Lamplight.
- Kristin Greczko
Masking Metatheatre
“…We are watching a play about theatre. The blurring of play and reality, and the confusing passage from one to the other…” - Martin Puchner
Masks have the tendency to define characters as actors themselves; the idea of characters as actors and characters dressed in costume is attributable to metatheatre: a word defined by Lionel Abel as “a device whereby a play comments on itself, drawing attention to the literal circumstances of its own production” (Puchner, 1). In Act 2. Sc. 9, Willy asks, “…But what about your death scene?” And Frank replies, “ You play the part…I have to play mine” (West, 50). Although the characters do not acknowledge that they are masked and are potentially being viewed as playing a role, through the use of Commedia masks, Dublin by Lamplight draws attention to its own theatricality. Another metatheatrical technique used is the characters’ self-narration that is typical of story theatre. In a very Brechtian matter, West uses metatheatre to disallow suspension of disbelief. “…Plays should avoid emotional catharsis and move audiences to consider their messages, with the intention of urging them towards social and political action…the methods used for breaking down the fourth wall…are thus akin to classical theatre and the Commedia dell’Arte…an important concept with relation to this is metatheatre” (Scuderi, 13). The metatheatrical elements employed by West force consciousness upon the audience, thereby making them aware of the issues presented, with the overall objective of evoking action and social change.
- Kristin Greczko
Irish Tradition and Storytheatre
The very popular improvisational theater, with its companies (such as Second City), performances and laughter spreading rampant across the world, has its close ties to the style of theater in which Dublin by Lamplight is performed. How completely unnecessary it might seem that characters in this play dictate word for word their actions and interactions, but this is in fact an example of the increasingly popular story theater which incorporates aspects of improvisation, and in fact shares similar roots. Storytelling is a style of entertainment that is part of the tradition of the Emerald Isles, but it is Story theater that adds so much to the Dublin by Lamplight text, and presumably its performances as well. How intriguing, when done properly, to watch a character narrate their performance as they perform it, to live and commit to the immediate present and include certain special aspects of that particular performance itself so that every moment is a new and somewhat magic one. These are the qualities that story theater brings to a performance. The professionalism that is required of an actor to narrate themselves and act their part with successful transitions is awe inspiring and quite the challenge. Dublin by Lamplight provides this challenge and delivers it affectively through its text!
-Emily Veryard
The Foundations of Storytheatre
Storytheater technique presents itself with use of an anonymous, omniscient point of view in a staged play. As in Dublin By Lamplight, a play very tightly based on storytheatre, actors become the storytellers who are fully responsible for their own narration; in storytheatre, there is no central narrator. Storytheatre is very closely based on improvisation technique, which involve dealing with and relating to the present moment in time. What is an interesting repercussion of storytheatre is that audiences remain aware of actors telling their stories in the here and the now of reality; they watch as before their eyes actors speak the words and then take on the characters themselves.
Storytheatre is productive in using minimal stage accouterments, with bare bones settings. It motivates impulsive theatrical choices and living in the moment. Actors are expected to experience ones environment and live only in the reality of the moment in order to be most successful. One of storytheatre’s founders, Paul Sills, details it as ‘a way of being, a way of sharing self’, a philosophy which reflects the mantras many present day in-vogues, new age ideals: ideals about living in the present moment and resisting control over something or anything.
Theatre audiences everywhere, without even realizing it, create the space and the world of the players for themselves when observing a play; they tie things together, make assumptions and personal illusions and ultimately add themselves to what is created on stage. In storytheatre, it is merely dictated that actors aid, through their narrative, to the audiences creation.
-Emily Veryard
Paul Sills
“there’s no laugh like the explosion of laughter after improvisation”
Paul Sills was one who was quick to observe that what audiences find most funny is lingering reflections of their own humanity onstage. Certainly storytheatre, especially with its extensive foundations in improve, achieves the task of showing individuals, through performance, what it is to be human.
Paul Sills is a director and improvisation teacher, as well as the co founder of
-Emily Veryard
The Politics of Commedia
Trent: “It’s a funny day to be doing a play, isn’t it?… Perhaps you’re hoping for a riot.” (West, 42)
The conflict fueling Dublin by Lamplight centers upon the political challenges and divergent stances that have dominated Ireland’s history. Willy aptly states the intentions of Dublin by Lamplight in his objectives for his play The Wooing of Emer: “Tonight you go before our countrymen to strike a blow for freedom, for nationhood. Tonight you’re going to act for Ireland” (West, 13). In a paper employing commedia dell’Arte as a means of interpreting political organizations, Czarniawska – Joerges and Jacobsson present Commedia dell’Arte as the art form that “…renders itself best to the exploration and interpretation of contemporary organizations within the public sector” (375). The metatheatrical elements that are typical of Commedia dell’Arte, more specifically the use of masks, is mirrored by the “public performance” and “symbolic acting” of present – day politics (Czarniawska – Joerges and Jacobsson, 376). This is an interesting comparative link, as Dublin by Lamplight can be defined as a political commentary with the underlying objective of evoking social change, the mask can be interpreted as a device for anonymity and commentary. Czarniawska – Joerges and Jacobsson summarize the metaphor by stating, “The ambiguity here remains: “theatre” can denote something noble and impressive, as well as something false or not quite serious” (377). The use of masks in Dublin by Lamplight comments on the falsification of individuals, while the issues the characters present for examination are noble in nature. The metatheatricality of Dublin by Lamplight, fueled by Commedia dell’Arte, insists upon a theme of appearance versus reality, encouraging the audience to question the distinction between truth and deceit in their everyday lives, while extending the notion to the examination of the powers that rule.
- Kristin Greczko