This seminar will deal with contemporary British drama in a wider sense with a focus on two highly successful plays, which both date from the 1990s and have frequently been produced since: Sarah Kane’s Blasted (1995) and Conor McPherson’s The Weir (1997). These plays differ hugely: If Kane’s drama deals with violence and obsession, pushing naturalistic representation to its very boundaries, McPherson’s play, set in rural Ireland, appears comparatively calm, although its undercurrents speak a different language. We will analyse the plays as literary texts but will also deal with issues such as gender, nationality, identity, and space. Moreover, we will look at the contexts of the productions, at their reception, and at London's theatrical scene. Please make sure that you have read BOTH plays at the beginning of the bock seminar. Further materials (e.g. theoretical texts) will be made available. Please register with me in advance, i.e. by mid-July 2017: suschmid@aol.com.

Please read:

• - Sarah Kane, Blasted, in Complete Plays (London: A & C Black, 2001).
• - Conor McPherson, The Weir (London: Nick Hern Books, 1998).