Fangs of malice : hypocrisy, sincerity, & acting / Matthew H. Wikander.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wikander, Matthew H.

Series:

Studies in theatre history and culture

Studies in theatre history & culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Acting--Psychological aspects.

Acting.

Theater and society.

Actors--Social life and customs.

Actors.

Manners and customs.

Physical Description:

xxii, 238 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Iowa City : University of Iowa Press, [2002]

Summary:

The idea that actors are hypocrites and fakes and therefore dangerous to society was widespread in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Fangs of Malice examines the equation between the vice of hypocrisy and the craft of acting as it appears in antitheatrical tracts, in popular and high culture, and especially in plays of the period. Rousseau and others argue that actors, expert at seeming other than they are, pose a threat to society; yet dissembling seems also to be an inevitable consequence of human social intercourse. The "antitheatrical prejudice" offers a unique perspective on the high value that modern western culture places on sincerity, on being true to one's own self.

Taking a cue from the antitheatrical critics themselves, Matthew Wikander structures his book in acts and scenes, each based on a particular slander against actors. A prologue introduces his main issues. Act One deals with the proposition "They Dress Up": foppish slavery to fashion, cross-dressing, and dressing as clergy. Act Two treats the proposition "They Lie" by focusing on social dissembling and the phenomenon of the self-deceiving hypocrite and the public, princely hypocrite. Act Three, "They Drink," examines a wide range of antisocial behavior ascribed to actors, such as drinking, gambling, and whoring. An epilogue ties the ancient ideas of possession and the panic that actors inspire to contemporary anxieties about representation not only in theatre but also in the visual and literary arts. Fangs of Malice will be of great interest to scholars and students of drama as well as to theatre professionals and buffs.

Contents:

Prologue: The Actor as Hypocrite xi

Act 1. They Dress Up 1

Scene 1. As Secret as Maidenhead 4

Scene 2. Putting on the Cloth 24

Scene 3. Humanizing the Fop 46

Act 2. They Lie 67

Scene 1. Rousseau and the Cult of Sincerity 70

Scene 2. Playing Joseph Surface 79

Scene 3. Ibsen's Small Stage of Fools 90

Scene 4. Princely Hypocrite 100

Act 3. They Drink 125

Scene 1. The Tavern 130

Scene 2. Liberty Hall 146

Scene 3. Harry Hope's Saloon 158

Scene 4. Contested Sites 181.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [201]-229) and index.

ISBN:

087745809X

OCLC:

48449926