About this Event
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Donald Trump is increasingly being described as a 'king', both by himself, and in the public mobilisations against his growing autocracy in the 'No Kings' protests taking place in the US. His accumulation of power, and his evident love of monarchical trappings would certainly seem to echo the forms of spectacular power deployed by formal monarchies to inculcate awe and obedience in their spectator-subjects. But does this make Donald Trump a king, or merely the echo of one? Might there yet be something missing?Drawing on theories of mediaeval European sovereignty and spectatorship, this paper argues that the materialisation of kingship has always been a theatrical process. Importantly, the King's majesty was not only produced, but also regulated through encounters with their own theatrical reflections. In the masque, in symbols and icons, in portraiture, in the manuals on kingship known as 'Mirrors of Princes', kings were inducted into kingship itself; a process which negotiated the distance between self and 'role' and one without which they risked becoming their own false reflection - the tyrant. Staring into a broken mirror produces distortions, misrepresentations and fractures. Theatrical failure means the king cannot appear. As John Milton observed, 'a tyrant is no real king; he is but a player-king, the mere mask and spectre of a king'. What is the 'mirror of princes' into which this President is gazing? And what does he see reflected there?
Speaker:
Dr Sophie Nield teaches in the Department of Drama, Theatre and Dance, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Her writing focuses on questions of space, theatricality and representation in political life and the law: recent work has included essays on Edwardian sweated labour exhibitions, on the picket line as a theatrical space, and on law, violence and theatricality in the trial of the Chicago 8. She is currently writing a book on the history of power and theatricality.
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Guildhall School’s ResearchWorks is a programme of events centred around the School’s research activity, bringing together staff, students and guests of international standing. We run regular events throughout the term intended to share the innovative research findings of the school and its guests with students, staff and the public.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
LRR, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Silk Street, City of London, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
