Research Timothy De Paepe

Abstract

This project will result in the creation of an annotated database or calendar of all the secular, mainly commercial theatrical performances organised in Antwerp between 1680 and 1795. This database will be supplemented by transcriptions of hitherto unknown letters written by the theatre impresarios or directors of the various companies. This research project supports and is closely linked with the postdoctoral research project "The business of performance: Theatre impresarios and the dramatic repertoire in the Southern Netherlands between 1680 and 1795".

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Paepe Timothy

Research team(s)

• Institute for the Study of Literature in the Low Countries (ISLN)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

For the first time in a study of the late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century theatre and opera life in Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp, emphasis will be placed on the role of the impresario and on the effects of the "business of performance" (i.e. the way theatres were run and drama was produced and performed) on the repertoire. By doing so I will answer such questions as: What motivated impresarios to run a theatre? What aesthetic/literary aspirations did they hope to realize and how did financial motivations influence artistic decisions? What can the role of the impresarios tell us about the alleged cultural (literary) crisis experienced by the Southern Netherlands? What was the status of the surprisingly significant number of female impresarios? What kind of plays and librettos did these impresarios commission? How was foreign repertoire adapted to appeal to a local audience and local authorities? How did local playwrights react? And finally, how did satirical plays portray the impresarios?

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeus Hubert
• Fellow: De Paepe Timothy

Research team(s)

• Institute for the Study of Literature in the Low Countries (ISLN)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project studies the organized theatre life in Antwerp between 1610 and 1746, while focusing on the relation between repertoire and playhouse/theatre. The research of historical theatres is often limited to either the drama texts (the plays) or the buildings (including the theatrical equipment). Neither approaches have been attempted for the Antwerp situation (1610-1746). To obtain an as complete as possible insight into the functioning of the Antwerp theatres, this project focuses on the relation between both aspects. By analyzing the plays (story, implicit and explicit performance instructions, etc.) in relation to the theatres (technical and semiotic analysis, CAD/3D-computermodels, audience, management, etc.) it becomes possible to reconstruct the evolution and the functioning of Antwerp theatre life in a far more in depth manner than when studying either aspect on its own.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeus Hubert
• Co-promoter: Peeters Frank
• Fellow: De Paepe Timothy

Research team(s)

• Institute for the Study of Literature in the Low Countries (ISLN)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project studies the organized theatre life in Antwerp between 1610 and 1746, while focusing on the relation between repertoire and playhouse/theatre. The research of historical theatres is often limited to either the drama texts (the plays) or the buildings (including the theatrical equipment). Neither approaches have been attempted for the Antwerp situation (1610-1746). To obtain an as complete as possible insight into the functioning of the Antwerp theatres, this project focuses on the relation between both aspects. By analyzing the plays (story, implicit and explicit performance instructions, etc.) in relation to the theatres (technical and semiotic analysis, CAD/3D-computermodels, audience, management, etc.) it becomes possible to reconstruct the evolution and the functioning of Antwerp theatre life in a far more in depth manner than when studying either aspect on its own.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeus Hubert
• Co-promoter: Peeters Frank
• Fellow: De Paepe Timothy

Research team(s)

• Institute for the Study of Literature in the Low Countries (ISLN)

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeus Hubert
• Co-promoter: Peeters Frank
• Fellow: De Paepe Timothy

Research team(s)

• Institute for the Study of Literature in the Low Countries (ISLN)

Project type(s)

• Research Project