I have recently published a scholarly article in Postmedieval Journal about the process of adaptation that occurred during the Saga Land project I undertook with Richard Fidler.
This project had its genesis as a four-part radio program, which then became the basis of a stage show first performed at the Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre. Subsequently, Richard and I wrote a book, Saga Land: The island of stories at the edge of the world, that expanded on the material in the radio and stage versions and also included new and very varied stories about Icelandic culture and society.
In some ways, the iterative and adaptive approach that shaped the project echoed the transformation of saga stories during their early conception, performance, and written transmission as manuscripts and compendia. Thus, the article suggests that the process of composition and adaptation can itself be a point of dialogue between old stories and how they are retold today.
It's available here.
Drawing at Thingvellir, 1999 (photo: Kári Bergsson) |