This critical edition not only revives the work for readers and scholars alike, it also provides historical context for Aikins's often overlooked contributions to theatre in the 1920s and presents research on the different staging techniques in the play's productions. Much of the play's historical significance lies in Aikins's vital role in Canadian theatre, as director of the Home Theatre in British Columbia (1920 22) and artistic director of Toronto's Hart House Theatre (1927 29). Wright reveals The God of Gods as a modernist Canadian work with overt influences from European and American modernisms. Aikins's work has been compared to European modernists Gordon Craig, Adolphe Appia, and Jacques Copeau. Importantly, he was also intimately connected with modernist Canadian artists and the Group of Seven (who painted the scenery for Hart House Theatre). The God of Gods contributes to current studies of theatrical modernism by exposing the primitivist aesthetics and theosophical beliefs promoted by some of Canada's art circles at the turn of the twentieth century. Whereas Aikins is clearly progressive in his political critique of materialism and organized religion, he presents a conservative dramatization of the noble savage as hero. The critical introduction examines how The God of Gods engages with Nietzschean and theosophical philosophies in order to dramatize an Aboriginal lover-artist figure that critiques religious idols, materialism, and violence. Ultimately, The God of Gods offers a look into how English and Canadian theatre audiences responded to primitivism, theatrical modernism, and theosophical tenets during the 1920s.--$cProvided by publisher.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 133-138)
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- C812/.52
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9780776623290 9780776623276
- LCCN
- PQ3919.A34
- LCCN Item number
- G83 2016eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xlvii, 138 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)kck00237208 (OCoLC)945583226 (CaOOCEL)451976
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Title Page 4
- Copyright 5
- Contents 6
- Table of Figures 8
- Acknowledgements 10
- Introduction 12
- Canadian Theatre History 15
- Theatrical modernism 19
- Theosophy 21
- Performing Ethnography and Primitivism 24
- Adapting Nietzsche 39
- The God of Gods 50
- Characters 52
- Casts and Production Crew 52
- The God of Gods 56
- Act I 56
- Act II 79
- Act III 97
- Explanatory Notes 112
- Textual Notes 120
- Dossier 134
- Reviews, Playbills, and Media 134
- Theatre Reviews 134
- Playbills and Advertisements 150
- Biographical Notes and Articles 159
- Works Cited 182
- Backcover 190
