'Re-writing' Shakespeare in Africa : creating musical relevance for a contemporary South African audience; with special reference to Geoffrey Hyland's production of Twelfth Night, or What You Will, staged at Maynardville Open-Air Theatre in 2006

Abstract

This thesis explores the use of current music genres in a postcolonial, and more specifically South African, theatrical context to replace the lost value of audience's musical recognition that was an integral part of performances of Shakespeare's, and other playwrights', plays in Elizabethan England. It makes special reference to a performance of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night or What You Will (1601) which took place at Cape Town's Maynardville Open-Air Theatre in 2006 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Shakespeare at Maynardville. The thesis is accompanied by a copy of the CD of the production's music performed by The Illyrian Players, the ensemble who performed the music live for the duration of the show's run. The creation of the music was an experiential learning process, and the thesis constitutes an analysis and reflection on that process with reference to current literary theory. Postmodern ideas of the 'text' and the 'reader' are applied to the theatrical performance and assessed as a method of interpretation of events. The process was thoroughly researched and collaborative, but in addition to this, it was undertaken in a spirit of postmodern playfulness. TheΓÇó song settings for the production made use of the earliest settings available that have a legitimate association with the play, and are arranged in diverse musical styles to suit the production's particular character.