'Speeches that draw tears': theatricality, commemoration and social history

Situated at the intersection of the disciplines of social history and theatre and performance studies, this short article addresses the role of the 'theatre metaphor' in both fields, before proposing a reframed 'theatrical' space; one in which spectatorial relations are embedded rather than described, and through which the de-doublement of both symbolic behaviours and public subjectivities can be articulated and made visible. The article examines the production of certain non-spectacular modes of public ceremony, in particular those to do with the commemoration of loss in war, in order to make proposals about the negotiation of private sentiment and public symbolism in ceremonial events. It then turns briefly in conclusion to possible implications for the understanding of aspects of broader social and cultural experience.