ABSTRACT
Within the realm of devised performance, numerous practitioners have used published fiction as a starting point for their work. Though many critics believe that adaptations are undertaken for economic purposes – guaranteeing large audiences for well-known stories – this form of working practice offers an opportunity for actors, directors and writers to experiment with pre-existing material and develop a theatrical mode which fulfils their own purpose, be it aesthetic, cultural or political. A fundamental aspect of this mode is the use of stage metaphor. This is highlighted by Phillip Pullman’s experience of theatrical adaptation. In 2003 the Royal National Theatre, London, commissioned an adaptation of the youth cult novel series, His Dark Materials. Author Pullman played an important part in the process of the adaptation (undertaken by playwright Nicholas Wright), attending many rehearsals and planning sessions. From the outset Pullman realised that in turning fiction into a stage performance, ‘it has to become metaphorical not literal’ (Butler 2003: 36). A metaphorical meaning is one in which the subject matter is referred to in a manner that does not literally describe it. The Greek meaning of metaphor is ‘to carry across’, which implies the transfer from one frame to another. This is very apt for this form of performance-making. Pullman’s observation highlights the fundamental shift that occurs in the transition from page to stage and the differences in the experience of reading a piece of fiction and staging a performance work.
