CHESTER 2010: DRAMA AND RELIGION 1555-1575

A SYMPOSIUM ABOUT THE CHESTER CYCLE IN CONTEXT

Chester 2010 will stage a Catholic version of the complete Chester Cycle of 23 processional pageant-wagon plays from the city of Chester, England, over three days 21-24 May 2010 on the campus of the University of Toronto. The new text has been edited by Alexandra Johnston (REED). The production of the pageants will be shared by PLS and acting companies from all over North America including both university and community groups. This version of the Chester Cycle enacts the Christian story from Creation to Judgment, as we believe it was either witnessed or read in 1572 by Christopher Goodman, a protestant divine who objected to its catholic content.

The symposium will be organized for morning and evening sessions around three afternoon performances: 20-minute papers are invited on any of the following topics. This list is not exhaustive, the dates under study approximate, and we particularly encourage new work from graduate students as well as new or seasoned scholars. Selected papers may be expanded for publication in a collection of essays on the Chester Cycle. Abstract due date: 15 July 2009

1. The changing relationship between religion and drama, especially in the north:

* Tudor Interludes or Other Drama 1555-1575
* Concepts of King and State in Chester
* Doubt and Faith in Chester

2. Chester: the city as performance site:

* Processional Stagings and Civic Architecture
* Pageant Wagons
* God Above, Devil Below
* Intertextuality Among Pageants Themselves, or Involving Other Texts

3. Sound and silence in Chester:

* Music
* Wordplay
* Biblical Echoes
* Expectations of 1572 Audiences

4. Words and pictures:

* The Chester Text in Relation to Catholic Iconography in the British Isles and on the Continent
* Textual Revision as a Form of Reformation Iconoclasm

By 15 July 2009, please send 250-word abstracts and short (1 page) CVs to all three organizers:

David Klausner, University of Toronto

Helen Ostovich, McMaster University

Jennifer Roberts-Smith, University of Waterloo