‘Dressing the part:’ Ellen Terry (1847-1928) – towards a methodology for analysing historic theatre costume

摘要

The material culture of historic theatre costume offers a vital resource for the fields ofuddress and theatre history that has yet to be fully recognised. This thesis unites approachesudfrom both disciplines to create a specific methodology for the study of theatre costumeudfounded upon the examination and assessment of such garments. It argues that theatreudcostume represents a separate and specific category of clothing and theatrical ephemera.udCelebrated actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928), an individual highly attuned to theudsignificance of dress as an expression of identity, is used as a case study to demonstrateudthe validity of this new methodology. Adopting an object-based and material cultureudapproach, the thesis engages with the visual and physical evidence about performanceudand design that can be gathered from Terry’s extant theatre costumes. It also highlightsudcrucial information about Terry’s dress and its public reception gleaned from additionaludsources such as photographs; paintings; letters; reviews, and within Terry’s papers andudbooks. This thesis represents the first full investigation of Terry’s personal and theatricaludwardrobe, and is the first study to carry out a close analysis of the actress’s survivingudgarments.udThis analysis establishes the factors fundamental to the interpretation and study of theatreudcostume: the significance of social, artistic and historic context; parallels and contrastsudbetween on and off-stage dress; the collaborative process of design and making; theudfunction of costume as both performance object, and expression of ‘identity’; the issue ofudmultiple and complex ‘biographies’; and the crucial evidence offered from materialudculture sources, most importantly, surviving costumes.udChapter 1 outlines existing methodologies and the cross disciplinary nature of the thesis;udChapter 2 reviews existing literature and proposes a new methodology; 3 provides theudcontext for Terry's professional career; 4 develops the methodology and analyses extantudgarments. 5 and 6 relate the methodology to ideas of self-fashioning and biography.udThe thesis establishes Terry as an exceptional figure in British theatre and society whoudtook an active role in fashioning her public and private image, both during her life, andudafter her death. The analysis of Terry’s wardrobe confirms the status of theatre costumesudas unique garments, which represent a key source for design, dress and theatre historians.udThis detailed case study demonstrates that the methodology presented can be employedudin the study of other figures, theatres and periods, and opens up a new and productiveuddirection for future research.