Personal, national, and metatheatrical voices in the plays of Peter Nichols
Abstract
Peter Nichols's dramatic works can be divided into two groups; the first group details the impact of familial and marital relationships upon the life of the contemporary British character. Using Nichols's autobiography, Feeling You're Behind (1984), and contemporary dramatic studies as a basis for analysis, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1967), Forget-me-not Lane (1971), Chez Nous (1974), and Passion Play (1981) can be credited as successful examples of Nichols's voicing of personal and domestic concerns. The second half of the Nichols's canon resounds with a political and national voice. The application of historical theory and scholarship confirms that The National Health or Nurse Norton's Affair (1970), The Freeway (1974), Privates on Parade (1977), Born in the Gardens (1981), and Poppy (1982) all detail the simultaneous decline of the British empire and the British character. Ultimately, in 1987, with A Piece of My Mind, Nichols combines his personal and national voices in his most metatheatrical form to date. Frustrated over his inability to write a novel during a self-declared hiatus from playwriting, Nichols returns to the dramatic world with a strong, unified--personal and national--voice.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Adler, Purdue University.
Subject Area
British and Irish literature|Literature|Theater
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