Role of Fairytale in Contemporary Theatre Explored at TCD Conference
Posted on: 10 June 2013
The relevance of fairytale to contemporary audiences was the focus of a symposium attended by international academics, storytellers and theatre specialists in Trinity College Dublin recently.
Organised by Trinity College’s School of Education, in association with Theatre for Young Audiences Ireland and Barnstorm Theatre Company, the two-day symposium brought together speakers from the worlds of theatre, literature, psychology and education.
A highlight of the conference was a presentation from Erika Eichenseer, the cultural curator at Oberpfalz in Bavaria, who discovered 500 long-lost fairytales gathered by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, a contemporary of the Grimm Brothers. The collection of fairytales by the historian had been locked away in an archive in Germany for over 150 years, until discovered by Mrs Eichenseer. A rehearsed reading of one of these stories, The Flying Box, was presented during the conference.
The keynote speaker at the symposium was Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Kenny, who has adapted many fairytales for young theatre audiences, most recently a re-working of the Hansel and Gretel story, A Murder of Crows, in collaboration with Barnstorm Theatre Company.
Director of the Arts Education Research Group in the School of Education in Trinity College Dr Carmel O’Sullivan commented: “Since earliest times fairytales have fulfilled a cautionary role, allowing children to ponder deep anxieties and the darker aspects of human personality within a safe, abstract context. This landmark symposium provided a wonderful opportunity for theatre specialists and academics in the field, along with interested members of the general public, to consider the role of fairytale in society today from a number of important perspectives.”
Philip Hardy, chair of Theatre for Young Audiences Ireland and artistic director of Barnstorm Theatre Company, added: “Fairytale has been a vital element in the growth of Theatre for Young Audiences into a sophisticated, innovative and ground-breaking area of theatre. Its enchanted world has the flexibility to relate to a range of developmental stages of young audiences. The symposium presented a unique opportunity to explore this world and its relevance to young audiences today.”
Other speakers at the event were Associate Professor at the School of Education Dr Carmel O’Sullivan; Assistant Professor at the School of Education at Trinity College, Dr Stephen Minton; Lecturer in Drama Education at Mary Immaculate Teacher Training College Dorothy Morrissey; Dean of the School of Media & Performance at Falmouth University Professor Mike Wilson; UK playwright Charles Way and theatre practitioner Anna Maria Murphy of Knee High Theatre Company, UK .