Theatre is one of the most impactful
instruments to educate and raise awareness among people. Morgan touches upon
theatre’s educative aspect and states that “ancient theatre provides ample material
for theorists interested in theatre as a tool of civic education in
democracies, especially in terms of the way ancient virtues were reflected in
and promoted through performance;”(p.5 Morgan) Although Morgan precisely
contemplates on ancient theatre here, it is evident that theatre throughout its
unique journey, is heavily used for educational purposes. The fundamental
reason that acquires theatre with such a prominent aspect (the ability to
educate people) eminently relies on its tendency to accommodate human
experience and memory in its core. The majority of playwrights shape their
plays in a way that they convey the intended messages through the performance
of the actors or the plot or even the lightning. Postmodern theater, on the
other hand, controls the performance, the plot, and the environment in a way
that even the absence of such instruments carries utmost importance. With
postmodern theatre’s unique style human experience and memory become more
pronounced because the postmodern theatre obliges the audience to be
participative in understanding the whole picture. In other words, the absence
or distorted states of plot or performance leave the interpretation to the
reader enforcing the plays’ to be more relatable by directly stimulating the individuals’
experience and memory. In David Hare’s “The Absence of War” the plot
centralizing the British election happened 1992 beckons the audience to
understand the competitive and cruel nature of politics. In Brian Friel’s
“Translations” the play allows the reader to take a glimpse at the attiring
impact of British colonizers and how language and communication play a huge
role in it. In this essay, I shall argue that the common standpoint on which
both plays rely is how language and communication reflect the individual’s
identity and how they shape the inner and outer spheres of the characters
Hare’s “Absence of War” sheds a light on
the corruptive nature of politics regardless of how pure and pristine the core
of the doctrine is. The characterization of George holds an important part in
displaying the change induced by inherently competitive and hence spoiling
humor of the political sphere. To be precise, the play raises the question of
whether corruption is an offspring of the politics’ competitive atmosphere, or
they, meaning, competition and corruption coexist and reinforce each other.
This dilemma’s importance becomes more prominent when George’s characterization
is perused. George reflects on his ideology behind his political goal and
states that “Our master is justice. And not two people agree on what that is.
We always have this dilemma. Justice has no organizations. It has no schools.
It did have once. They were called unions. But the communities that produced
them have gone” (p.17) George’s speech unveils how rhetorically skilled he is
but more importantly, it unveils that he regards his cause to be just and
pristine. Nevertheless, later on in the play, he admits that “the job is
inherently undignified” (p.39) which questions his standpoint against the
allegedly unjust structure of the society. George’s public, private spheres
impair his political sphere and as a result, Malcolm says “George is the man
who made victory possible. But unless we do something quickly, he’s the only
thing standing in victory’s way” (p.34). Here we see the primitively
competitive nature of politics. But it also reveals George’s hypocrisy mainly
relies upon its pillars to the modern society’s inquisitive nature toward
politicians meaning separating two spheres raises a problem. Morgan on the
subject of separation of public and private life states that “The present
tendency to compartmentalize aspects of the human experience is a deeply rooted
result of the liberal “art of separation,” (p.2 Morgan) our successful legal division
of public life from private life”. Morgan’s meditation on it enlightens the
reason for George’s unstable character. However, the blame cannot be thrown at
George. The oppressive and competitive structure of politics forces the
characters to show different identities according to the atmosphere. We as the
audience get to observe their inner and outer selves through their languages
that carry a trace of all their collective identities.
Friel’s “Translations” focuses on
colonizer’s impact on language and communication for both the colonizer and the
colonized and reveals that communication and language despite the language
barrier can shed a light on the character’s identity. Yolland who is a British
lieutenant falls in love with Maire. They cannot communicate because of the
language barrier they are subjected to. The ironic image here alludes that
understanding each other does not necessarily occur through communication.
Yolland utters “I love the sound of your speech” (p.50). Here the emphasis should be on “sound”
suggesting that understanding and appreciating each other does not necessarily
stem from the language itself but the communication that can even occur without
coherent words. More importantly, however, the innocent love two characters are
subjected to is an utterly detrimental instrument in colonizing another
identity. Yolland as Maire speaks English exaggeratedly praises her indicating
his desire to construct a closer connection but implicitly Yolland establishes
his superiority over her. To be precise, the influence of love encourages Marie
to learn English (which she already desires yet the influence of love enflames
her desire). Learning a language is a very attiring impact on colonizers.
Simply put, language carries significant marks of culture and identity, and
learning a different language can change one’s identity. In the play, we
observe such a change in both characters showing how powerful language when it
comes to shaping or reflecting one’s identity.
In conclusion, both plays show us the
importance of communication and language. They both carry and convey messages
that can be interpreted deeply and hence can be related to a variety of topics.
One of the prominent topics is corruption that can occur not due to the
inherently evil characters but precisely because of the uncontrollable and
inevitable environment. “Absence of War” shows us the cruel and competitive
side of politics whereas “Translations” show us the colonization's unavoidable
aspect. Ultimately, in both plays language plays a huge role in conveying the
intended message through its character’s performance. In “Absence of War” the
language changes and through that change the difference between the private and
public sphere becomes evident showing the character’s attempt to reflect their
different identities accordingly.
Morgan, M.
(2016). Politics and theatre in twentieth-century Europe: Imagination and
resistance. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Brannigan,
John, and Tony Corbett. "Translations" Brian Friel. Longman,
2004.
Hare,
David. The Absence of War. Faber & Faber, 2015.
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