Theatre and Evolution from Ibsen to Beckett

An interdisciplinary discussion of Kirsten Shepherd-Barr's book
Kirsten Shepherd-Barr (Associate Professor of Modern Drama,
University of Oxford) discusses her book Theatre and Evolution from
Ibsen to Beckett with Michael Billington (Theatre Critic, The
Guardian), Morten Kringlebach (Associate Professor and Senior
Research Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford)
and Laura Marcus (Goldsmiths' Professor of English Literature).
About the book: Evolutionary theory made its stage debut as early
as the 1840s, reflecting a scientific advancement that was fast
changing the world. Tracing this development in dozens of
mainstream European and American plays, as well as in circus,
vaudeville, pantomime, and "missing link" performances, Theatre and
Evolution from Ibsen to Beckett reveals the deep, transformative
entanglement among science, art, and culture in modern times. The
stage proved to be no mere handmaiden to evolutionary science,
though, often resisting and altering the ideas at its core. Many
dramatists cast suspicion on the arguments of evolutionary theory
and rejected its claims, even as they entertained its thrilling
possibilities. Engaging directly with the relation of science and
culture, this book considers the influence of not only Darwin but
also Lamarck, Chambers, Spencer, Wallace, Haeckel, de Vries, and
other evolutionists on 150 years of theater. It shares significant
new insights into the work of Ibsen, Shaw, Wilder, and Beckett, and
writes female playwrights, such as Susan Glaspell and Elizabeth
Baker, into the theatrical record, unpacking their dramatic
explorations of biological determinism, gender essentialism, the
maternal instinct, and the "cult of motherhood." It is likely that
more people encountered evolution at the theater than through any
other art form in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. Considering the liveliness and immediacy of the theater
and its reliance on a diverse community of spectators and the power
that entails, this book is a key text for grasping the extent of
the public's adaptation to the new theory and the legacy of its
representation on the perceived legitimacy (or illegitimacy) of
scientific work.