Acting is believing: ritual, memory, and performance in the plays of Enda Walsh

Abstract

In this research, I examine the relationship between ritual, memory, and performance and contemporary theatrical creation methods, specifically with reference to the works of Enda Walsh. I use Walsh's plays as a case study to discuss the various realities and forms of world-making in theatre and performance. These analyses all interconnect and demonstrate the ways in which performers enact personal and communal rituals of belief, re-member versions of the past, and embody performed reality. My dissertation also includes production information and analysis to explore the ways in which these related themes appear not only in theoretical but practical applications.