Australian and New Zealand Theatre

This course will introduce students to the broad outlines of the development and practice of Australian and New Zealand theatre through a study of some key texts. It looks not only at the styles and concerns of the texts themselves, but at the various social and industrial contexts in which Australian and New Zealand theatre-writing and theatre-making was (or wasn't) produced. It will also introduce students to aspects of Australian and New Zealand theatre historiography and criticism: of how theatre was - and is - created, performed, written about, and critically constructed.

Objectives

Students successfully completing this course will:

develop in-depth knowledge of some of the typical ways in which Australian and New Zealand theatre seeks to construct images of society and culture: its mythologies, debates, jokes, identity and concerns

have a deeper understanding of the broad social, political, religious, and cultural contexts in which performance takes place

have an ethical and social understanding of the kinds of cultural discourses and creative interventions undertaken by the Australian and New Zealand theatre industries and by Australian and New Zealand writers of various backgrounds

extend their effective communication skills through developing critical awareness, web-based research skills and writing proficiency in the fields of theatre criticism and performance history

Third-year students will develop a more sophisticated understanding of theatre within specific cultural contexts building on their previous units.