“I’ve only ever written to escape from hell-and it’s never worked-but at the other end of it when you sit there and watch something and think that’s the most perfect expression of the hell that I felt then maybe it was worth it. (Sarah Kane, Royal Holloway College, London, 3 November 1998).” (Saunders. 2002: 1). Both representative and reflected in this statement made by the British playwright Sarah Kane (1971-1999) (Sierz. 2001: 90-91) is the state of being human. In its literal sense the state of being human could be illustrated as an expression of existence. That of the individual and characteristics and traits experienced through the life of mortal man. (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 61 & 366). In addition to this, the associated meaning with the word ‘tested’ suggests ‘a difficult situation that reveals the strength or quality of someone or something.’ (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 785). When defined in these terms, this then opens up the question to how an expression of human-existence is revealed under pressure in Sarah Kane’s play Blasted (1995).
The twentieth century British playwright Sarah Kane’s (1971-1999) first and sensational drama Blasted opened in the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in January 1995. (Saunders. 2002: 2). From the outset Kane’s play stirred much controversy within the media. The title itself had a great impact upon its audience, as blasted through its formed meaning and literal association is a term ‘expressing annoyance.’ (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 70). As stated by the British theatre critic Aleks Sierz, Kane’s Blasted is “a shocking play whose raw language and powerful images of rape, eye-gouging and cannibalism provoked critical outrage…Kane exploded theatri...
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...tp://www.robertsilverstone.com/wp-content/articles/Art_of_Being_Human_Part1.pdf. [Accessed 21st April 2012]
Stephens, S. (2010) Sarah Kane’s debut play Blasted returns. [On-line] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/oct/24/sarah-kane-blasted. [Accessed 21st April 2012]
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, (2009) War. [On-line] Available from: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/war. [Accessed 21st April 2012]
The Guardian, (2005) ‘Suicide art? She’s better than that.’ [On-line] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2005/oct/12/theatre. [Accessed 21st April 2012]
Wixson, C. (2005) “In Better Places”: Space, Identity, and Alienation in Sarah Kane’s Blasted. [On-line] Available from: http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.falmouth.ac.uk/journals/comparative_drama/summary/v039/39.1.wixson.html. [Accessed 19th April 2012]
There are many ideas, experiences, values and beliefs in the play Blackrock by Nick Enright. The play is based on a true story and is set in late November to early January in an Industrial city and its beachside suburb of Blackrock. It is about a girl called Tracy aged 15 who was raped and murdered at a teenage party and the effects of it on the locals and community. Three main ideas explored in the play that challenged and confirmed my own beliefs include “Disrespect toward women”, “Victim blaming” and “Double standards”.
Blackrock was first performed in 1995. The play explores the causes of violence by individuals as well as ideas surrounding mateship and gender. The representations of mateship, masculinity and violence portray Australian culture in Blackrock as dangerous, homophobic and one that is accustomed to gender inequality. Dramatic conventions are employed by Nicholas Enright to challenge the reader or viewer’s view towards mateship, reinforce the idea of masculinity and challenge the idea that Australian culture is safe.
The play, “Riley Valentine and the Occupation of Fort Svalbard”, by Julia- Rose Lewis is an exploration of the resilience of teenagers. The play is heavily symbolic and supports the dramatic meaning of the show. Throughout the Queensland Theatre Company’s interpretation of this play, the director, Travis Dowley, expresses forms of dramatic elements to articulate three types of manipulations. These manipulations include the manipulation of body and voice, space and the creation and manipulation of dramatic mood. Through these types of manipulations, it portrays the dramatic meaning towards the performance. Although, the use of space throughout Travis’s performance allows the audience to identify this dramatic meaning.
Susan Glaspell was an American playwright, novelist, journalist, and actress. She married in 1903 to a novelist, poet, and playwright George Cram Cook. In 1915 with other actors, writers, and artists they founded Provincetown Players a group that had six seasons in New York City between 1916-1923. She is known to have composed nine novels, fifteen plays, over fifty short stories, and one biography. She was a pioneering feminist writer and America’s first import and modern female playwright. She wrote the one act play “Trifles” for the Provincetown Players was later adapted into the short shorty “A Jury of Her Peers” in 1917. A comparison in Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” and “A Jury of Her Peers” changes the titles, unfinished worked, and
Butler, Judith. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal 40.4 (1988): 519-31. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 11 May 2011.
...stine. "On the Edge: The Plays of Susan Glaspell." Modern Drama 31.1 (Mar. 1988): 91-105. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Marie Lazzari. Vol. 55. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.
The relationship between male and females within literary works can be expressed in a variety of different ways. Often times, gender roles are solidified to present the man as a dominant and overpowering figure, where the woman is seen as nurturing and are many times objectified due to this nature. In “Poof”, the reader is presented with an example of a woman who is ‘too accepting’ and ‘too giving’ to her male spouse, where as in “Good and Gone”, a male protagonist shatters the dominating nature of the standardized gender roles by loving a woman based off of common interest, not based off of submissive nature. Comparing these two protagonists of both plays, the writers, EP3C and Lynn Nottage, present a duality of dramatic effects by either
The play Blackrock, written by Nick Enright that was inspired by the murder of Leigh Leigh, which took place in Stockton in 1989. During this essay the following questions will be analysed, what stereotypes of women are depicted in the text, how do the male characters treat the female characters and how do the male characters talk about the female characters. These questions are all taken from the feminist perspective.
The play God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza begins with a simple set-up, four parents from different social classes coming together to discuss a dispute between their sons. As the play continues we see the characters slowly becoming less polite and civil as they start yelling at each other, getting piss drunk, and everyone’s favourite, vomiting. Throughout the play these characters are constantly being tested and judged. When Veronica and Michael attempt to show off their material possessions to the Raleighs they are given a metaphorical slap to the face as they physically ruin what the Novaks hold dear to them. In return the Novaks judge the Raleighs on their sense of righteousness and responsibility, the Raleighs social standing allowing them
To an extent, the characters in the play represent aspects of the Australian identity and experience. However, Rayson's vivid grasp of speech patterns to evoke character, and her ability to manipulate the audience with humour and pathos move the text beyond mere polemic and stereotype. In an almost Brechtian way, she positions us to analyse as we are entertained and moved.
Looking at theatre reviews and books such as Stephanie Jordan and Dave Allen’s Parallel lines: Media Representations of Dance and Ramsay Burt’s The Male Dancer: Bodies, Spectacle, Sexualities. I will find out more about the history of homosexuality in theatre and how DV8 defied the law to produce shows with gay themes despite it being illegal to promote such themes in the UK during the 80’s and early 90’s.
One striking characteristic of the 20th century was the women's movement, which brought women to the forefront in a variety of societal arenas. As women won the right to vote, achieved reproductive freedom through birth control and legalized abortion, and gained access to education and employment, Western culture began to examine its long-held views about women. However, before the women’s movement of the 20th century, women’s roles were primarily of a domestic nature. Trifles by Susan Glaspell indicates that a man’s perspective is entirely different from a woman’s. The one-act play, Trifles, is a murder mystery which examines the lives of rural, middle-aged, married, women characters through gender relationships, power between the sexes, and
Yasmina Reza is a french woman who is an well known playwright, and novelist, who has been awarded multiple awards, including a Tony award in 1989 as well as 2009, she currently resides in Paris. A play she had wrote in 2008 entitle God of Carnage, has become an impeccable piece of literature that has changed the outlook on acting like an adult. With realistic characters with realistic dialogue, all completed with a seasoning of awakening satire. This play puts on display the irony of two couples, arguing about their own children acting like big children themselves, as they discuss the ill manner choices of their own sons.
Butler, Judith. Ed. Case, Sue-Ellen. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution." Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.
In her intriguing article “Avant-garde theatre: has Britain lost its mind?” arts and media correspondent on the Observer, Vanessa Thorpe, describes avant-garde as follows: