ABSTRACT
Lovecraft’s fascination with the theatre began at an early age with playacting himself, as well as devouring the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Lovecraft lived his whole life in Providence except for his time in Brooklyn. But it is only his time in Providence after he moved back from New York that he became an avid theatre-goer there. He had no interest, however, in seeing his own work dramatized and rejected any attempt to do so. Beginning at the end of the twentieth century, however, playwrights and directors began to adapt and stage Lovecraft, all running into the same challenge: how to stage, live in front of an audience, “indescribable” cosmic horrors. This chapter explores the variety of manners and techniques theatre artists have used to bring Lovecraft’s work to life live on stage, including an examination of the specific texts that appear to be dramatized more than others, implying that some of Lovecraft is indeed capable of being dramatized and, per his own thoughts, some is not.
