Remembering scenes of violence: stylization and abstraction of violence on stage

Abstract

This essay examines what experimental theatre and dance uniquely offer to the task of representing violence. The author reflects on a series of scenes to illustrate how theatre is able to simultaneously stage multiple temporalities where representations of violence can be imagined, enacted and remembered at the same time. Unbounded by the conventions of linear dramaturgy, experimental performance is particularly adept at such temporal dramatic manipulation. The essay illustrates the manner in which live performance is able to set violence beside itself through complex compositions of time and action, and considers the ethical implications of this for spectators.