The Origins Of Theatre And Playwrights English Literature Essay

The Origins Of Theatre And Playw adjusts English Literature EssayThis test necessitates to hold forth the effectiveness of political subject field in causing social change, spirit specific all(prenominal)(a)y at the practice of the contemporary political matchwright Augusto Boal including the define of social theorist Karl Marx on Boals mold and how Marxism affected Boals style of home. This essay will begin by looking at the origins of bailiwick and how it has been utilize since past as a medium of promoting political supposition. However, in hostelry to understand political theatre we essential first-class honours degree be open to understand what is mean by politics, the Oxford Reference Dictionary (1991647) describes something political as affecting the State or its Government of public affairs. From this definition we are equal to deduce that political theatre is theatre that is produced in magnitude to affect or influence the community and those in power wi th ensure to public affairs. This type of theatre has been routined and enjoyed since the very beginning of theatre as we know it today, which began in antediluvian patriarch Greece in the celebration of the fete of Dionysos, the God of ecstasy. The festival included prayer and procession as strong as singing and dancing, there may also lead been groups of per tropeers who would purpose each other through the medium of meter or dance. It is believed that it was Thespis who s in additiond discover and per peeed first without the chorus, and thus creating what we understand to be a protagonist. (GREEK THEATRE 1) Competitions past began to take place during the festivals in which playwrights would enter their plays to be per determi charter, either a tragedy, or a comedy and satyr play. The Greek playwrights would present the earreach with ideas to think about and radiate over during the plays a Parabasis, or stepping divagation would take place, this was an opportunity for the playwright to comment upon the state of city affairs or anything else that he so wished. Ari dismisshanes thought that, the dramatist should not solitary(prenominal) offer pleasure completely should, besides that, be a instructor of morality and a political advisor.(in Boal 2008xiii) In his plays, Aristophanes would satirise the most primary(prenominal) hatful of the day, in between the scenes the chorus would per normal short, satirical pieces of song and dance always attacking well known individuals by name, for mannikin he ridiculed the demagogue Kleon in his play Babylonians. However, a plays success depended on the financial backing from the wealthy aristocracy ay the time, the choragus and then the plays produced may be seen to reflect the view of the choregus rather than that of the playwright, because without them a play would not sop up the funding to be per public figureed. Greek society was lots controlled by the economic minority, the Bourgeoisie, but not hing was done to change this. This state of affairs in Ancient Greece is very similar to the social situation that Karl Marx was fighting against when he introduced his communistic manifesto the alternative to capitalism. Marx believed that human existences have been conditioned throughout bill to behave a certain way by economic institutions and that in order for an equal society without a social power structure hence the p component parttariat must seize power from the bourgeoisie through a social revolution and place everything in collective ownership.In his adjudge Theatre of the Oppressed Augusto Boal writes how Marx believed that art is a key way of fling knowledge, but this knowledge is conveyed from the perspective of the artist, social surroundings or whoever provides sponsorship or payment. Mainly, it is the part of society that maintains economic power that holds control over any means of communication. Bordwell and Thompson (in Woodson, no date) back this upEach art form is controlled, not by the artists, but by larger social institutions. In a capitalist society, an artist may believe he or she is using the art form for personal expression, but he or she is actually producing merchandise of a kind acceptable to the society.It is only from the reaching of Karl Marx and his theories on socialism that playwrights and practitioners have begun to use theatre as a means for change. Bertolt Brecht was greatly influenced by the Marxist theory because he too wanted to frame change, the major goal of the historical avant-garde was to altercate the institution of bourgeois art (Kistenberg 199529) Pescator described Brechts work as a Marxist-based analysis of social relations. Brecht agreed with Marx that it was the capitalists that created the bourgeois society, and that drama can be employ as a medium of didacticism. It was from this vox populi that Brecht adopted Piscators form of avant-garde theatre known as epic theatre. Epic theatre has many p arallels with Cartesian tradition in which heap are reinforcer into rational thought it underlines the socio-political content of drama rather than trying to rig the emotions of the auditory sense. Brecht stated that there must be a trans dression of mental conflict into historic condition (in Basuki no date) in theatre in order to release the self and to create rational thought. This Cartesian belief is needed so that neither the auditory modality nor the actor tries to empathise with the execution and characters on exemplify and are able to view the action with a critical take care. In order to do this Brecht proposed that theatre needed to wear to the consultation a process of alienation because alienation is necessary to all understanding (Brecht in Basuki no date) so that they are able to form an opinion unfettered by empathy. The term Brecht used to describe this distancing of the audience is Verfremdungseffekt, which when translated, means alienation. In a descri ption about epic theatre Brecht gives an explanation about the difference between a beauty checkering melodramatic theatre and one watching epic theatreThe dramatic theatres spectator says Yes, I have felt like that too-Just like me-Its only natural-Itll never change-The suffering of this man appals me, because they are inescapable-Thats great art it all seems the most explicit thing in the human beings-I weep when they weep, I express feelings when they laugh.The epic theatres spectator says Id never have thought it-thats not the way-Thats extraordinary, simply believable-Its got to stop-The sufferings of this man appal me, because they are unnecessary-Thats great art nothing obvious in it-I laugh when they weep, I weep when they laugh (Brecht in Basuki no date)This quote from Brecht shows us how he intended epic theatre to work and its popularity among playwrights and directors is a great example of how successful epic theatre is as a form of didacticism. However, in Brech ts plays the separation between the stage and the audience is still present. The spectator is persuaded to think the thoughts and opinions that presented to them through the action on stage because it is the playwrights who condemns the characters or the events that have taken place the audiences thoughts are merely pointed in the right direction by the dramatist (OPPRESSED xx) Augusto Boal, though highly influenced by the likes of Marx and Brecht took the format of epic theatre to a new level. He anchor ways of combining Marxist theory with new ways of musical com fructify and analysis. He believed that in order to liberate the audience from the constraints of stage and spectator, they themselves must be part of what is happening on stage To transform is to be transformed.(Boal 2008xxi) and thus fitting spect-actors. From this belief Boal created the Theatre of the Oppressed in which the audience are asked to intercede, and suggest the next course of action for the actors to pe rform or actually perform themselves, whilst the actors assist and persuade the audience to take the role of a spect-actor. For example, in assembly theatre, the actors perform a short play with which ends with unresolved oppression and thusly it is performed again but this time the spect-actor is able to become involved and suggest ways to fix the oppression. Boal saw the spectators usurpation of the stage as a symbolic moment in their transformation, This attack is a symbolic trespass. It symbolises all the acts of trespass we have to commit in order to free ourselves from what oppresses us. (Boal 2008xxi) By doing this the spect-actor is make conscious(predicate) of what he inevitably to do in order to change the situation in his palpable social setting, and by breaking down the wall between spectator and actor, Boal also breaks the wall between the oppressor and the oppressed. (BOAL ESSAY)English Theatre company unreal citizens is one of the leading producers of Forum The atre in the UK, this company is made up of homeless person people or those at risk of becoming homeless. Cardboard Citizens tour the UK, performing for other Homeless people, and as it states on their website, aiming to problem-solve together. (CARDBOARD WEBSITE) Although this is an beautiful way of trying to create social change, it may be the case that the company perform to an audience who are already aware of the situation being presented to them, and are therefore preaching to the converted. In The unmixed Closet Gay Theatre for Straight Audiences, Richard Hall (in Kistenberg 199576) suggestsTheatre is uneffective as an instrument for social change. It either speaks to those already in support of its views, or to those who are so secure in their power that they dont mind hearing themselves abused, as long as the abuse is entertaining.Although theatre is an excellent form of communication, it is unable to access the parts of society in which people do not watch theatre that i s seen to be anything other than mainstream sport i.e. Musicals etc. This then stops the theatre from being its most effective. As well as this, political theatre may become an subject for people to confirm their opinions, for example, David Hares play Stuff Happens was written as a reaction to the Iraq War, somebody who has negative beliefs about this event may watch the play just so their opinions are confirmed. This again may stop the theatre from being at its most effective. Although Cardboard Citizens use of forum theatre has helped many homeless peoples situations and is working to gain understanding of the struggles homeless people encounter, Elizabeth Burns states that the audience view themselves as part of a performance rather than performance as part of their lives (in Kistenberg 199532) She believes that the audience are merely props for the actors and that because they are in a state of being neither fully part of the performance nor full separate then it isnt much di fferent from their usual role as spectator. If this is the case then the spectators of Cardboard Citizens performances, even if they were able to present their theatre to a much wider and varied kind of audience, would not be much changed by what they have seen.Boals next step in creating social change could be seen to have a great impact on society, he generated a form of theatre named Legislative Theatre in which theatre is used to create an active and practical change in society.Boal ran for election and was voted in to be one of 42 vereadoresof Rio, (BOAL ESSAY) he used his new political position to create Legislative Theatre. In this type of theatre Boal attempted To use theatre within a political system to create a truer from of democracy (Boal 2008i) This type of theatre uses all the techniques of the theatre of the oppressed in order to create new laws, Boal would take his theatre to the streets of Rio and asked the people what they thought of certain issues then proposed hi s findings to the council chamber. In this way he was able to attribute forward laws to be passed that had a significant impact on the people of Rio, for example, one law that was passed was one which protected the witnesses of crimes. (LEGISLATIVE THEATRE 104).Theatre is not just about entertaining the masses it provides a means in which to get a message across. Although all of theatre could be express to be political in a broader sense, it is political theatre that has been establish as designing a theatre that is left wing and that expresses the need for radical change. Political theatre has thrived under oppressive governments as a means of communicating political opinions however this has not always been the case. In spite of how seemingly political Greek theatre appears the censoring of the plays provides raise towards the fact that it was not and it did little to challenge and change the social hierarchy of the time because it was controlled by the people in power. Greek theatre started by being interactive and an open form of communication however the right to speak was taken away when the citizens were split into chorus and audience. It is seemingly wry then that it was someone speaking out of turn that first created this form of theatre but by being made to be the audience the rest were stifled.Looking back at how political theatre has demonstrable over the years it is clear of the relevance of each individual practitioner at the respective times in which they were writing, for example, in the years of extreme point censorship by the Bourgeoisie when Brecht was writing he was one of the first practitioners to use theatre to make people aware of their situation therefore enlightening them because it was the first time they had been shown the truth. However now, in the 21st degree centigrade when people are able to access, via the means of the internet for example, all types of imformation without censorship they are given the opportunity throu gh practices such as Boals to actively change society. Boals Legislative Theatre encapsulates the aim of political theatre. As Brecht used Epic theatre in order to create social change, Boal took his format and physically created change through the placement of new laws. This is ultimately the aim of political theatre, to release the oppressed from the oppressor.Conclusion.Zortman (2) says that The avant-garde artists were denounced as breeders of the proletarian world revolutionQuotes 356 / 1403words.