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Staging the Construction of Place in Two Antarctic Plays

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Performing Ice

Part of the book series: Performing Landscapes ((PELA))

Abstract

Many maps relegate the icy continent of Antarctica to the margins of the planet, but there are several instances in theatre history where the place has taken centre stage. This chapter examines how Antarctica as an icescape has been interpreted in a theatrical context. Taking Manfred Karge’s Die Eroberung des Südpols (1985) and Patricia Cornelius’s Do Not Go Gentle… (2010) as case studies, it analyses the metaphorical resonances of the South Polar setting and asks how actors on stage perform the process of imagining ice. I argue that by analyzing theatrical representations of Antarctica, we can gain insights into how dominant attitudes towards the continent, its ice and its stories have shifted over time.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The one-act farce A Ticket-of-Leave by Watts Philips was first performed on 1 December 1862 at the Royal Adelphi Theatre. This play is not to be confused with The Ticket-of-Leave Man by Tom Taylor, which was first performed at London’s Olympic Theatre in 1863.

  2. 2.

    Adebayo subsequently participated in the 2008 Cape Farewell expedition to Disko Bay in the Arctic, exploring an interest in the African-American explorer Matt Henson’s North Pole expeditions, undertaken alongside Robert Peary. This Arctic expedition led to her 2009 play Matt Henson: North Star—a kind of companion piece to Moj of the Antarctic.

  3. 3.

    While the Tinch Minter and Anthony Vivis version (1988) is a transliteration, Ralph Remshardt, Caron Cadle and Calvin McLean’s 1992 translation uses English language idioms instead of direct translations in order to capture the essence of the play and make it more accessible to an English-speaking audience. The Silas Jones and Laurence Maslon version (1990) goes further still, changing the character names and adapting the colloquialisms to suit the US market. My reading here is based on the original German version (and translations are my own). An in-depth analysis of the differences between these various translations would make an interesting future project.

  4. 4.

    These include performances by Kompass-Theater in Hanover in 2007; Elephant Performance Lab in Los Angeles in 2009; Strawdog Theatre in Chicago 2011; and Landestheater Coburg in Bavaria in 2011.

  5. 5.

    The name Adams is borrowed from Jameson Adams, one of three men to accompany Ernest Shackleton on his 1908/09 expedition towards the South Pole. The party turned back after reaching a new farthest south record of 88°23’ on 9 January 1909. Despite failing to reach their goal, all four men in the party returned alive.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks go to Dr Ursula Rack at Gateway Antarctica, The University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand), for advice on German idioms and their translations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia

    Hanne E. F. Nielsen

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  1. Hanne E. F. Nielsen
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Correspondence to Hanne E. F. Nielsen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Conservatorium of Music and Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia

    Carolyn Philpott

  2. School of Humanities, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia

    Elizabeth Leane

  3. School of Communications and Creative Arts, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Matt Delbridge

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Nielsen, H.E.F. (2020). Staging the Construction of Place in Two Antarctic Plays. In: Philpott, C., Leane, E., Delbridge, M. (eds) Performing Ice. Performing Landscapes. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47388-4_2

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