Science fiction theatre

Science fiction theatre includes live dramatic works, but generally not cinema or television programmes. It has long been overshadowed by its literary and broadcast counterparts, but has a long history, and via the play R.U.R. introduced the word robot into global usage.

Scene from a production of Rosumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek. The play introduced the term "robot" to the world

Background

Ralph Willingham in his 1993 study Science Fiction and the Theatre[1] catalogued 328 plays with sf elements, several of which were adaptations. Christos Callow Jr created the Internet Science Fiction Theatre Database[2] in 2018 including mainly 21st century plays that feature elements of science fiction, fantasy and horror. In addition to productions of individual plays, the science fiction theatre festival Sci-Fest LA was launched in Los Angeles in 2014, and the festivals of Otherworld and Talos: Science Fiction Theatre Festival of London[3] were both launched in 2015 in Chicago and in London, UK respectively.

Chronological selection of science fiction plays

Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein adapted from Mary Shelley's novel of the same name by Richard Brinsley Peake, 1823
Journey Through the Impossible by Jules Verne and Adolphe d'Ennery, 1882
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Thomas Russell Sullivan, 1887
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde an unauthorised adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by John McKinney, 1888
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Or a Mis-Spent Life adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Luella Forepaugh and George F. Fish, 1897
R.U.R. by Karel Čapek, 1920
The Blue Flame by George V. Hobart and John Willard, 1920
Back to Methuselah by George Bernard Shaw, 1922
The Makropulos Affair by Karel Čapek, 1922
The Bedbug by Vladimir Mayakovsky, 1929
The Bathhouse by Vladimir Mayakovsky, 1930
Night of the Auk by Arch Oboler, 1956
The Bedsitting Room by Spike Milligan and John Antrobus, 1962
The Curse of the Daleks by David Whitaker and Terry Nation, 1965
Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday by Terrence Dicks, 1974
Starstruck by Elaine Lee, 1980
Henceforward... by Alan Ayckbourn, 1987
A Clockwork Orange: A Play with Music by Anthony Burgess adapted from his novel of the same name, 1987
Greenland by Howard Brenton, 1988
Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure by Terrence Dicks, 1989
They're Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson, 1991 short story later adapted by author as a play
Communicating Doors by Alan Ayckbourn, 1994
Comic Potential by Alan Ayckbourn, 1998
Whenever by Alan Ayckbourn, 2000
Far Away by Caryl Churchill, 2000
A Number by Caryl Churchill, 2004
My Sister Sadie by Alan Ayckbourn, 2003
The Cut by Mark Ravenhill, 2004
Mercury Fur by Philip Ridley, 2005
Klingon Christmas Carol by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom and Sasha Warren, 2007
Really Old, Like Forty Five by Tamsin Oglesby, 2010
A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky by David Eldridge, Robert Holman and Simon Stephens, 2010
Earthquakes in London by Mike Bartlett, 2010
Doctor Who Live by Will Brenton and Gareth Roberts, 2010
Frankenstein adapted from Mary Shelley's novel of the same name by Nick Dear, 2011
Future Shock by Richard Stockwell, 2011
The Nether by Jennifer Haley, 2011
The Crash of the Elysium by Tom MacRae, 2011
Constellations by Nick Payne, 2012
Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play by Anne Washburn, 2012
Jerome Bixby's The Man From Earth adapted by Richard Schenkman from Jerome Bixby's film of the same name
1984 adapted from George Orwell's novel of the same name by Robert Icke and Duncan MacMillan, 2013
King Charles III by Mike Bartlett, 2014
The Future Boys Trilogy by Stephen Jordan, 2012-2015
Game by Mike Bartlett, 2015
Elegy by Nick Payne, 2016
Solaris adapted from Stanisław Lem's novel of the same name by David Greig, 2019

Research

There is generally little research on science fiction theatre. A notable exception is "Science Fiction and the Theatre" by Ralph Willingham and the international conference series on science fiction theatre, "Stage the Future."[4] Other research projects include the Robot Theatre project by Louise LePage.

gollark: ???

gollark: Those outputs are taken as the y values corresponding to the relevant x values.

gollark: The graph is drawn by giving f all the x values on the line (technically there are infinitely many but whatever) and seeing what outputs that produces.

gollark: In this case the output is always 1.

gollark: f maps the given value of x to an output value.

References

Willingham, Ralph. 1993. Science Fiction and the Theatre. London: Greenwood Press
https://www.cyborphic.com/database/ Retrieved 6 September 2019
https://www.ayoungertheatre.com/review-talos-ii-the-bread-roses-theatre/ Retrieved 31 August 2019
http://sfra.org/resources/sfra-review/309.pdf Retrieved 31 August 2019, p.8

Sources

Willingham, Ralph. Science Fiction and the Theatre. London: Greenwood Press, 1993

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Willingham, Ralph. 1993. Science Fiction and the Theatre. London: Greenwood Press

[2] ttps://www.cyborphic.com/database/ Retrieved 6 September 2019

[3] ttps://www.ayoungertheatre.com/review-talos-ii-the-bread-roses-theatre/ Retrieved 31 August 2019

[4] ttp://sfra.org/resources/sfra-review/309.pdf Retrieved 31 August 2019, p.8