Dictionary

hypertheatrical en · ADJ

Etymology

From hyper- + theatrical.

Meanings

1. Extremely or excessively theatrical.
   • The more frequent and insistent the camera's gaze, the more hypertheatrical the acting; the more the camera has to go in search of an actor who pretends not be aware of it, and to exist without it, the more naturalistic and documentary the acting seems (portraits of a lunatic, a prisoner or an amateur actor). 2003, Patrice Pavis, Analyzing Performance: Theater, Dance, and Film, page 117:
   • Another set of blinders stems from what might be called the Duessa syndrome: Protestant England associated hypertheatrical women with exotic foreignness, rhetorical display, physical allure, and Circean sexuality. 2016, Robert Henke, Eric Nicholson, Transnational Mobilities in Early Modern Theater, page 130:

Forms