Early in his career, British playwright Howard Barker was embraced by such venerable companies as the Royal Court and the RSC; however, the development of his catastrophic style in the late 1980s caused his plays to be rejected by one mainstream venue after another. When two actors approached Barker in 1988 and asked him to compose a new work, together they formed The Wrestling School, a company dedicated solely to the production of Barker’s plays. From its inception, then, The Wrestling School (TWS) has been an alternative to mainstream British theatre. Now in its 23rd year, TWS is venerated in Europe while maintaining a cult following in Britain.
More importantly, I would argue that The Wrestling School operates as a theatrical-political system that successfully speaks back to power. TWS accomplishes this in large part through the plays themselves, which simultaneously reject theatrical conventions and attack the “deep structures” of British social and political institutions. Additionally, the structure of the company, which since 2008 has operated with complete independence from the British subsidy system, has allowed it to overcome the material conditions of production and reception (as described by Ric Knowles) that frequently constrain even overt political messages.
This paper will outline the development of The Wrestling School over its 20 year history and argue that not only do the unique conditions of TWS allow Barker’s plays to reach their greatest potential as a subversive political force, but that it has redefined the definition and practice of British alternative theatre.
1 comment:
Thank you for your paper. I am not familiar with The Wrestling School and this was a great way to learn about it. I felt you held your argument throughout but I was wondering if the complicated relationship you describe between Barker and the Arts Council reverberates at all with his other funders like the Arts and Humanities Research Council or the private funder?
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