A Controversial Company : Debating the Casting of the RSC's The Orphan of Zhao
- Submitting institution
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Royal Holloway and Bedford New College
- Unit of assessment
- 33 - Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies
- Output identifier
- 41253608
- Type
- B - Edited book
- DOI
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- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISBN
- 0000000000
- Open access status
- -
- Month of publication
- October
- Year of publication
- 2014
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
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- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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4
- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This guest-edited issue of Contemporary Theatre Review, comprising five articles and two interviews, responded to criticism from within the theatre industry over the RSC’s casting of ‘The Orphan of Zhao’. It is the first special edition of any journal in the world to interrogate British East Asian experiences of casting. Thorpe chaired a roundtable discussion which provided the impetus behind the CTR volume. Drawing upon links with the British East Asian community, Thorpe and Rogers played an equal part in capturing the debate from different disciplinary viewpoints. Thorpe co-edited the volume (50%), co-wrote the introduction (2000 of 4000 words), contributed one article ‘Casting Matters’ (9000 words) and co-edited all submissions. Thorpe’s article ‘Casting Matters’ uses theoretical frameworks drawn from Judith Butler and J. L. Austin to analyse the impact of casting decisions, while arguing for a theory of casting that recognises what is at stake in terms of race and debates about cultural authenticity for British East Asian actors. Thorpe was responsible for arranging the interview with the RSC’s Head of Casting and co-conducted the interviews with both the RSC and British East Asian actors.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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