Conclusions

Abstract

The conclusion claims that artistic autonomy is paramount and there is no such thing as illegitimate adaptation. It observes that cultural heritage is relevant when it illuminates the here and now, and that performance-making can benefit both from using pre-existing sources as found objects and from reinterpreting the canon through the celebration of the dramatic text. Rather than re-categorising various forms of performance-making, this study has suggested that stage adaptation braids approaches, and text-based theatre is just as pertinent an adaptive framework as devising, physical theatre, immersive performance, or collaborative practice. Remodelling a classic is not a question of ethics as long as the adaptation responds to the source on some conceptual level, and the transmission of meaning is achieved not by fidelity to the letter but to the spirit of the precursor.