Invisible Constructions: Voicing Choreographers and Movement Directors in Literary Theatre Productions at the Abbey Today

Abstract

This thesis establishes the presence of a role at the Abbey Theatre comparable to the contemporary framing of Movement Director. It examines the frameworks that shape this function, showing how both it and the body have been marginalised within literary theatre, where dominant modes of perception often obscure practitioners who centre bodily intelligence in a tradition that privileges the word. Although ‘Choreographer’ and ‘Movement Director’ have distinct etymologies and histories, they are treated here as operating within the same functional frame in literary theatre: shaping physical action and dance in staged performances of plays. While frequently part of the creative team, their contributions are often marginalised, inconsistently credited, misattributed, or undocumented across academic, amateur, and popular discourse. No comprehensive account currently traces the history or evolution of this function at the Abbey Theatre—or more broadly within Irish theatre—nor clearly defines its scope. Methodological knowledge remains largely tacit, preserved in living memory and described more through personality than practice. Nonetheless, archival evidence shows a substantial and sustained presence: 337 literary productions at the Abbey between 1925 and 2020 credit 93 individuals under 34 movement- or dance-related titles, revealing a distinct historical trajectory of this specialised practice. The research examines this function within literary theatre production, defined as works grounded in written scripts, including plays, dance dramas, and related forms. In this context, ‘literary theatre’ aligns with ‘dramatic literature’, distinguishing it from ‘text-based’ practices in dance, where text more often functions as texture than as narrative. The Abbey Theatre is selected as a case study due to its national role in shaping Irish literary identity and reflecting broader theatrical practice. It also has a documented history of integrating embodied performance, notably through early collaborations between William Butler Yeats and Ninette de Valois. The theatre was also the site of the 2015 #WakingTheFeminists event, a landmark in Irish feminist theatre history that helped catalyse this research. The thesis analyses the mechanisms underpinning the marginalisation of choreographers and movement directors in literary theatre, arguing that this diminishment is rooted in logocentrism—a framework that privileges language as the primary expression of meaning, relegating the body to a secondary status. It explores the historical and contemporary context of the practice, analyses its functions, documents its early development at the Abbey, examines the role of gender in its marginalisation, and interrogates the perceptual frameworks shaping literary performance. It proposes that a lateral, phenomenological approach—balancing psychomotor, diagrammatic, and logical modes—is necessary to fully account for the value of physicalised action in literary theatre. Primary research methods include ethnographic interviews with four choreographers active between 1993 and 2025, complemented by autoethnographic insights drawn from the researcher’s own practice in the field. Netnographic research—an adaptation of ethnographic methods for the study of online communities and cultures—alongside archival and bibliographic research, further ensures historical depth and contemporary relevance.