John Kneubuhl and Pacific Theatre

Dr Heim, Otto   (Principal Investigator (PI))

24

2016-01-01

326000

John Kneubuhl and Pacific Theatre

John, Kneubuhl, Pacific drama and theatre, Pacific Island writing

Literature

Humanities & Social Sciences (H)

17600515

General Research Fund (GRF)

2015

Completed

1) To write a critical monograph on John Kneubuhl's dramatic work in its entirety spanning fifty years (1942 to 1992), focusing on the evolution of its thematic concerns and formal affiliations and innovations, especially regarding the working together of Western and Polynesian traditions. 2) To situate Kneubuhl's work historically in the specific local contexts in which his plays have been produced to date (in the 1940s, the 1970s, the 1990s, and the present), focusing especially on the connections between Kneubuhl's evolving notion of theatricality, as expressed in his plays and his directorial efforts, and changing conditions and conventions of theatrical production. 3) To trace the coherence and evolution of Kneubuhl's vision of a Pacific theatre, in both his dramatic and non-dramatic writing, and to address its place and significance in the emergence of a popular Pacific theatre in the late twentieth century. 4) To initiate and encourage further critical study and debate of Kneubuhl's work and its value by presenting preliminary findings at conferences and in other forms of publication, with a view to furthering the archival preservation and possible dissemination of his dramatic work as a resource for future scholarly and creative pursuits in the Pacific and elsewhere.