Directing 'The Absolute': Towards destabilising the victim/perpetrator binary in Sam Shepard's A ...

194 Pages·2016·10.71 MB·English

Directing ‘The Absolute’: Towards destabilising the

victim/perpetrator binary in Sam Shepard’s A Lie of

the Mind (1986)

by

Micia de Wet

A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for

the degree

MA DRAMA

in the Department of Drama at the

UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

SUPERVISOR: Prof Marie-Heleen Coetzee

CO-SUPERVISOR: Dr Chris Broodryk

October 2016

© University of Pretoria
ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate and directorially apply Antonin Artaud’s concept

of The Absolute in order to destabilise the victim/perpetrator binary between
the characters Beth and Jake in Sam Shepard’s play text, A lie of the mind
(1986). Previous theoretical analyses of Beth and Jake in A lie of the mind
frame them as victims of their circumstances and as victims and perpetrators
of violence (Bottoms 1998:16). I will explore the violent relationship between
them in the context of the victim/perpetrator binary set up in the original play

and re-imagine this binary by creating a radical reinterpretation of the

relationship between the characters in a theatre production titled π (2015). I

argue that a directorial treatment of The Absolute assists in destabilising the

victim/perpetrator binary present in Beth and Jake’s relationship.

To reinterpret Beth and Jake’s relationship, I explore René Girard’s notions of

violence, victimisation, and scapegoating, as well as the Artaudian notions of

Cruelty, The Absolute, and the Theatre of Cruelty. I apply the Girardian
concepts and vocabulary to a reading of the relationship between Beth and
Jake. I also discuss the ways in which Artaud and Girard conceptually relate
to one another. I then provide a practical exploration within the framework of
the Theatre of Cruelty by creating an original production, π (2015), in which

The Absolute facilitates the destabilisation of the victim/perpetrator binary that

exists between Beth and Jake. In π (2015), the relationship between Beth and

Jake is reconceptualised and reinterpreted through taking cognisance of the

Artaudian-Girardian framework.

This dissertation concludes that Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty and the notion of

The Absolute are able to destabilise the victim/perpetrator binary between

Beth and Jake by replacing sexual desire in their relationship with

transcendental love, and reconstructing and reimagining their relationship
accordingly.

KEY CONCEPTS: The Absolute, Theatre of Cruelty, violence, victimisation,
scapegoating, desire, and transcendental love.

ii
© University of Pretoria
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………... vi
LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………….. vii

LIST OF APPENDICES………………………………………………………….. viii
PLAGIARISM FORM……………………………………………………………... ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Chapter introduction……………………………………………………... 1
1.2. Problem statement………………………………………………………. 4
1.3. Research approach……………………………………………………… 5

1.4. Research question and sub-questions………………………………… 9
1.5. Chapter outlines………………………………………………………….. 11

1.5.1. Chapter One: Introduction……………………………………… 11
1.5.2. Chapter Two: Antonin Artaud: Cruelty and The Absolute…... 11
1.5.3. Chapter Three: René Girard: violence, victimisation, and
scapegoating…………………………………………………….. 11
1.5.4. Chapter Four: Beth and Jake in A lie of the mind: Towards

destabilising the victim/perpetrator binary……………………. 12
1.5.5. Chapter Five: Directing The Absolute: creating and staging

π…………………………………………………………………... 12
1.5.6. Chapter Six: Conclusion………………………………………... 13

1.6. Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 13

CHAPTER TWO: ANTONIN ARTAUD: CRUELTY AND THE ABSOLUTE
2.1. Background and contextualisation of Antonin Artaud………………... 15
2.1.1. Antonin Artaud: a personal history…………………………….. 17

2.1.2. Mapping Artaud’s theatre: a move towards the Theatre of
Cruelty…………………………………………………………….. 23

2.1.3. Language, poetry, and the metaphysical……………………... 25
2.1.4. Artaud’s own Theatre of Cruelty productions………………… 27
2.2. Unpacking the Theatre of Cruelty……………………………………… 30
2.2.1 The Theatre and the Plague……………………………………… 31
2.2.2. Cruelty within the Theatre of Cruelty…………………………… 32

2.2.3. The Absolute and the Theatre of Cruelty………………………. 34
2.3. Directing the Theatre of Cruelty………………………………………… 38

2.4. Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 42

CHAPTER THREE: RENÉ GIRARD: VIOLENCE, VICTIMISATION, AND
SCAPEGOATING
3.1. Background and contextualisation……………………………………... 45
3.1.1. René Girard: a personal history………………………………... 45
3.1.2. Girard’s notion of mimetic desire………………………………. 47

3.2. Girard’s notion of violence………………………………………………. 51
3.2.1. Vengeance as further violence………………………………… 54

3.2.2. The role and purpose of a victim………………………………. 55
3.2.3. The victim as a scapegoat……………………………………… 57
3.2.4. The perpetrator of violence as a victim and scapegoat……... 59
3.3. Violence and its link to sexual desire………………………………….. 61
3.4. Artaud and Girard: an integrated framework………………………….. 63

3.4.1. Violence as an innate impulse…………………………………. 65
3.4.2. Sacrifice as an internal and external process………………… 65

3.4.3. Myth as a model and metaphor………………………………... 65
3.4.4. Sexual desire…………………………………………………….. 66

iii
© University of Pretoria
3.4.5. The Absolute in relation to Girard’s understanding of the
apocalypse……………………………………………………….. 67

3.5. Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 69

CHAPTER FOUR: BETH AND JAKE IN A LIE OF THE MIND:
TOWARDS DESTABILISING THE VICTIM/PERPETRATOR BINARY

4.1. Background and contextualisation……………………………………... 72
4.1.1. Sam Shepard: a brief biography……………………………….. 73
4.1.2. Synopsis of A lie of the mind…………………………………… 75
4.1.2.1. Setting: space and time…………………………….. 82
4.1.2.2. Title of the play text………………………………….. 84

4.2. Beth and Jake apart from the family unit……………………………… 86
4.3. Interrogating worldly institutions in A lie of the mind…………………. 91

4.4. Reframing violence in A lie of the mind: re-positioning the mimetic
desire……………………………………………………………………… 94
4.4.1. Violence and the scapegoating mechanism in A lie of the
mind……………………………………………………………….. 99
4.4.2. Violence and sexual desire in A lie of the mind………………. 103

4.5. The Absolute and transcendental love: reconstructing the
relationship between Beth and Jake and destabilising the

victim/perpetrator binary………………………………………………… 104
4.6. The apocalypse, The Absolute, and godlessness in A lie of the

mind……………………………………………………………………….. 109
4.7. Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 110

CHAPTER FIVE: DIRECTING THE ABSOLUTE: CREATING AND
STAGING π

5.1. Background and summation of frameworks used within this study… 113
5.1.1. The role of the Creator versus the role of a director…………. 116

5.2. Theatre of Cruelty and The Absolute: application in π in order to
destabilise the victim/perpetrator binary………………………………. 119
5.2.1. Motivating the title: π and Theatre of Cruelty………………… 119
5.2.2. The ‘narrativeless’ structure of π………………………………. 121
5.2.3. Space and time in The Absolute: staging and the play world 124

5.2.4. Filling the space and time: the décor and blocking used in π 130
5.2.5. The use of lighting in π………………………………………….. 133

5.2.6. The soundscape in π……………………………………………. 134
5.2.7. The actor, technique, and characterisation in π……………… 136

5.2.8. Character and costume in π……………………………………. 140
5.2.9. Subjects and inner meaning: transcendental love in π, the
metaphysical, and the symbolic………………………………... 142
5.2.10. Stage language in π………………………………………………. 144
5.2.10.1. The imagery inspired by The Absolute within π….. 149

5.3. Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 157

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION
6.1. Chapter introduction……………………………………………………... 158
6.2. Addressing the problem statement…………………………………….. 159
6.3. Answering the research question and sub-questions………………... 160
6.4. My research approach and discoveries……………………………….. 165

6.5. Analysis and reflection of π…………………………………………….. 169
6.6. Conclusion………………………………………………………………... 171

SOURCES CONSULTED……………………………………………………….. 173

iv
© University of Pretoria
APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………… 182

v
© University of Pretoria
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In completion of this study, I would like to acknowledge the following key

players:

• My supervisors, Prof Marie-Heleen Coetzee and Dr Chris Broodryk.
Your guidance these past few years have been indispensable.

• The team at UP Arts, particularly Marielle Labuschagne and Spiro
Schoeman for being so willing to help me realise my production

dreams.

• My family. Specifically my father, for his endless support and belief,

and my grandmother, for the countless acts of service she has

performed for me during this time.

• Inamari Schoonraad, who listened and debated. Davina Zietsman,

who rationed and cheered. Aneshree Paul, who tirelessly unpacked

the transcendental with me.

• Gopala Davies and Ansu Visser, who trusted in my vision and
performed for me.

vi
© University of Pretoria
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Screen shot of set structure, 2015…………………………………...... 131

Figure 2: Screen shot of bulbous fire in the Pyre section, 2015……………….. 150

Figure 3: Screen shot of Beth’s skull in the Snāw section, 2015………………. 151

Figure 4: Screen shot of snowing ash in the Snāw section, 2015……………... 152

Figure 5: Screen shot of Jake’s face in the Snāw section, 2015………………. 152

Figure 6: Screen shot of clouds in the Corollary section, 2015………………… 153

Figure 7: Screen shot of bulbous shadows in the Corollary section, 2015…… 154

Figure 8: Screen shot of bulbous shadow figure in the Philia section, 2015…. 154

Figure 9: Screen shot of the embrace in the Philia section, 2015……………... 156

vii
© University of Pretoria
APPENDICES

Appendix A: Original set design for Sam Shepard’s production of A lie of
the mind……………………………………………………………. 181

Appendix B: The programme for π…………………………………………….. 182

viii
© University of Pretoria
ix
© University of Pretoria
© University of Pretoria