Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Novel As Drama: Staging Theatrical Aspects Of The Narrative In Jane Austen’S Mansfield Park, Ann M. Shanahan

Department of Fine & Performing Arts: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Of Jane Austen's full-length novels, Mansfield Park deals most directly with theatrical subjects, yet it is the least frequently adapted for the stage. Plots, themes, and characters in the novel echo those of the popular late eighteenth century play Lovers' Vows, and the first volume includes a performance of that play as part of a "home theatrical." ·In 2011, I completed a workshop adaptation and staging of Mansfield Park. I used the method of Chamber Theatre founded by Robert Breen, a technique of literary adaptation that retains the narrative voice by use of an embodied narrative and assignment of narrative …