On 25 September, Professor D.J. (David) Britton gave a lecture titled ‘Look, Listen, Think, Feel, Show, Tell’ at UIC. Professor Britton is a playwright, theatre director and academic. He is currently the Director of Creative Writing and Professor of Dramaturgy at Swansea University as well as an Artistic director of Theatr Cadair. His most recent stage works include ‘Windsongs of the Blessed Bay’, ‘Silverglass’, and ‘The Wizard, the Goat and the Man Who Won the War’.
Professor D.J. Britton gives a lecture titled ‘Look, Listen, Think, Feel, Show, Tell’
Professor Britton is the first Writer in Residence to be invited to UIC through the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences (DHSS). Associate Professor and Associate Dean of DHSS, Dr Charles Lowe, welcomed everyone before thanking UIC for allowing this opportunity and then he introduced Professor Britton. Professor Britton began the lecture by introducing himself and explaining the meaning of the word ‘playwright’. He detailed why it is ‘playwright’ and not ‘playwrite’, explaining that the word ‘wright’ on its own means ‘maker’.
Associate Dean of DHSS, Dr Charles Lowe, welcomes everyone to the lecture
The first topic of ProfessorBritton’s lecture discussed using complex characters in his plays. Former British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, was an inspiration for Professor Britton due to the Welsh-bred British leader’s diverse personality. With famous actor, Richard Elfyn, taking the role of David Lloyd George, Professor Britton went on to the write what became one of his most long-standing plays, ‘The Wizard, the Goat and the Man Who Won the War’.
The antiquated language of Shakespeare was brought up in the lecture including ‘Hamlet, Prince of Denmark’, incorporating some of Professor Britton’s own works. Afterwards, three UIC students performed a brief scene from Hamlet. In the scene, Polonius hides himself behind a curtain in Gertrude's room while Hamlet deals roughly with his mother, causing her to cry for help. Polonius echoes the request for help and is heard by Hamlet, who then mistakes the voice for Claudius' and stabs through the curtain and kills him. The language used was discussed later in the question and answer period, with students wondering if it is possible for the language of Shakespeare’s plays to be modernized without ruining or changing the impact of the performance.
Students act a scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet
Another topic that came up during the lecture was famous film-maker Alfred Hitchcock, who was referred to as the ‘Master of Suspense’. Alfred Hitchcock pioneered many elements of the suspense and psychological thriller genres, which led to a discussion of the difference between suspense and surprise.
The beginning of ‘Under Milk Wood’ by Dylan Thomas was read aloud by Professor Britton while the audience was instructed to close their eyes so they could really focus on and understand the meaning of the words that were used. Russian playwright and short story writer, Anton Chekhov, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history, was also mentioned in the lecture. Chekhov offered a different theatre experience that was described as a ‘theatre of mood’ and a ‘submerged life in the text’.
Another performance was done by three UIC students, but this time it was a scene from Chekhov’s famous piece ‘Three Sisters’. Year 4 Contemporary English Language and Literature (CELL) students, Jia Xin, Chen Yu and Bo Wei performed the short scene.
Jia Xin and Chen Yu re-enact a scene from "Three Sisters"
(Back) Dr Charles Lowe and Professor Britton; (Front) Jia Xin, Bo Wei and Chen Yu
To end the lecture, there was a question and answer period. One student in the audience asked who Professor Britton’s favourite Shakespeare character was. He replied that The Duke from ‘Measure for Measure’ was his favourite because of the way the character behaved by stepping back and observing others’ actions. The lecture ended with Dean of DHSS, Prof Mei-hwa Sung, thanking Professor Britton and then presenting him with a gift.
Dean of DHSS, Prof Mei-hwa Sung presents Professor Britton with a gift after thanking him
The students in the audience are eager to ask questions
Throughout his presentation, Professor Britton showed different slides that, once the first letters of the titles were combined, spelled the word ‘humanity’. Each letter represented a word that led to a discussion. The letters with the topics were H for History, U for Universal, M for Mythology, A for Artistic Courage, N for Naturalism, I for Interior Truth, T for Tension and Y for Yearning. In the end, Professor Britton explained the importance of humanity and the role it has in theatre as well as how theatre shines a light on worlds within and beyond.
Reporter: Samuel Burgess
Photographers: Ivy Liao, Deen He, Samantha Burns
Editors: Deen He, Samantha Burns
(from MPRO)
