ESC: English Studies in Canada

D e a t h a n d t h e M a r r i e d M a i d e n : P e r f o r m i n g G e n d e r i n T h e Br o k en H e a r t Roberta Barker DalhousieUniversity I . T h e G h o s t B r i d e M ost early m od ern traged ies en d in m u ltip le death s, an d m an y featu re gh osts, bu t M ich ael Boyd ’s 1994 stagin g o f John Ford’s T h e B r o k e n H e a r t (c. 1629) at th e r s c ’s Swan Theatre began with a h aun tin g before th e ch aracter wh o app eared as a p h an tom was actu ally dead. In th e p r od u ction ’s p ro­ logue, the sp ectator en cou n tered Orgilu s (Iain Glen ), gaun t an d black-clad, playin g on a lute (Figure 1). H e san g o f th e joys o f m arriage, o f “H earts b y h oly u n ion wedd ed , / M ore th an th eirs by cu stom bed d ed; I Fruitful issues; life so graced, I N ot by age to be d efaced ” (m .iv.74 -7). Th ese were p leasu res h e h im self had lost. T h e B r o k e n H e a r t hin ges on th e abortive b etroth al between Orgilu s an d his beloved Pen th ea, d estroyed wh en her broth er Ith ocles forces her into m arriage with Bassan es. As Glen ’s Orgilu s fin ish ed sin gin g, Boyd ’s p rod u ction evoked those broken n uptials. The frail, wh ite-clad figure o f Pen thea (Em m a Fielding) appeared, her face h idd en by a brid al veil. Orgilu s d rew it aside to gaze at h er face, bu t im m ed iately his fath er Cr otolon (Ton y Britton ) en tered , sp eakin g the first word s o f Ford’s playtext: “Dally n ot fu r th er ” (i.i.i). At this, Pen th ea tu rn ed from Orgilu s an d began to walk slowly upstage. Cr otolon did n ot register her presen ce as sh e passed him , for she was n ot a bride o f flesh an d blood , bu t a figm en t o f Orgilu s’ im agin ation —or a gh ost. E S C 30.2 (J une 2004): 6 7-8 9 Ro be r t a Ba r k e r is A ssista n t P ro fesso r o f T h ea tre a t th e U n iv ersity o f K in g ’s C o lleg e /D alh o u sie U niv ersity. H e r re c e n t a n d fo rth c o m in g a rticle s ex p lo re issues o f g e n d e r a n d p e rfo rm a n c e as th e y re la te to th e plays o f S h ak esp eare, M id d leto n , W e b ste r a n d S to p p ard . S he rec en tly c o m p le te d a facsim ile e d itio n o f C om m o n C onditions (1576) for th e M a lo n e Society. H e r b o o k , E arly M o d ern Tragedy, G ender a n d P erform ance, 1980-1999, w ill b e p u b lish e d by P algrave M a c...