Plays and Performance in the Country House: the Victorian Theatre at Chatsworth

该项目将侧重于北翼的精英空间，特别是剧院/舞厅，这是保存极为完好的私人剧院的罕见例子，迄今鲜有人研究。该项目将使用传记解读来探索这个房间在1832年由怀特维尔创造作为北翼的宴会厅，以及随后它在1896年由第八公爵和著名的戏剧设计师威廉·亨斯利改建成剧院。幸存的舞台布景和档案资料将被用来探索从19世纪末到现在，这个空间如何在家庭、家庭和游客内部和之间创造新型的社会关系。该项目将与策展团队密切合作，寻找讲述这个空间故事的新方法。查茨沃斯目前正在规划未来十年的内容开发，并就如何长期使用房子内外的空间制定计划，以提供21世纪的查茨沃斯游客体验。这可能包括更长的游客路线和更长的停留时间，以及更完整的关于众议院和庄园的故事。北翼内的几个精英空间已经包括在游客路线中。然而，剧院(或以前被称为宴会厅/宴会厅)是一个关键的例外，目前没有以任何方式向游客展示-无论是作为一个实际的表演空间，还是作为探索第六公爵或后续家庭成员对剧院的兴趣的一种方式。事实上，无论是工作人员还是外部团体都很少使用它。这个项目将为剧院提供一些令人兴奋的新用途和解释的空间，包括重新激活剧院作为表演空间，重现历史表演(包括业余团体的表演)，以及举办当代表演-为查茨沃斯带来新的声音、理论和实践。

This project will focus on the elite spaces of the North Wing, and in particular the theatre/ballroom, which is a rare example of an exceptionally well-preserved private theatre and has been little studied to date. The project will use a biographical interpretation to explore the creation of this room in 1832 by Wyatville as the North Wing's Banqueting Hall and its subsequent conversion to a theatre in 1896 by the 8th Duke and the celebrated theatre designer, William Hemsley. Surviving stage sets and archival sources will be used to explore how this space created new kinds of social relationships within and between the family, household, and visitors, from the late 19th century to the present day. The project will work closely with the curatorial team to find new ways of telling the stories of this space.Chatsworth is currently planning content development for the next decade and formulating plans for how spaces within and outside the House will be used in the long-term, in order to deliver a 21st-century Chatsworth visitor experience. This is likely to include a longer visitor route with increased dwell time, and a fuller story of the House and Estate. Several of the elite spaces within the North Wing are already included in the visitor route. However, the Theatre (or Ballroom/Banqueting Room as it was formerly known) is the key exception and is currently not represented in any way for visitors - either as a practical space for performance or as a way to explore the interest of the 6th Duke or subsequent family members in theatre. Indeed it is little used either by staff or external groups. This project would provide scope for developing some exciting new uses and interpretation for the Theatre, including reactivating the Theatre as a space for performance, recreating historical performances (including those by amateur groups), and hosting contemporary performance - bringing new voices, theory and practice to Chatsworth.