In this master’s thesis I compare the Anna Karenina and The Visoko Chronicle stagings produced by the Slovenian National Theatre Drama Ljubljana. First I define and compare dramatisation and stage adaptation based on different theoretical perspectives. The goal of the dramatisation is to present an epic story by adapting material in framing dialogues. I understood the stage adaptation as a superscript for all the processes of editing and rewriting the text for staging. Thus, in essence, the notion of a stage adaptation also includes the notion of dramatization and, by contrast, encompasses broader editing procedures. The aim of this thesis is to present the novel : theatrical script : performance relations. That is, to present the relations between the baseline literary work (novel) and the theatrical script based on the literary work (dramatisation and stage adaptation) as well as the relations between the theatrical script and its staging. I present different theoretical perspectives on the definition of the novel and theatrical script, analyse two specific novels — Anna Karenina and The Visoko Chronicle — and compare them to the script adaptations based on them. I highlight the substantive and structural differences between the novel and its adaptation, then analyze the concretization of the adaptation on the stage. Both adaptations set the stage for a romance story, but they deal with it differently. In The Visoko Chronicle the narrative structure enables the presentation of the epic story on stage, in Anna Karenina the fragmented structure (the novel in parts) does. It is important that in Anna Karenina they remain within the fictitious world at all times, while in The Visoko Chronicle they maintain the duality between the real world and the fictitious world. Prior to the analysis of the relations between the theatrical script and its staging, I present different researchers’ views on the said relations and explore the elements of the postdramatic theatre. I compare the adaptations based on the dramatic / post-dramatic pointers. I have found that Anna Karenina remains inside the dramatic theater, meanwhile The Visoko Chronicles has a postdramatic character to it. In the thesis I also present and compare the two different directorial approaches of the two established directors, Dušan Jovanović and Jernej Lorenci. Lastly, in the discussion on the relevance of the topic today (such as the position of a woman in society, individual freedom, the influence of society on an individual, differentness in society) I find that both parts still raise relevant questions.
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