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THEA 143: Development of Dramatic Art II

A discussion of ideas, individuals, innovations, and trends in theatre over the past 150 years.

Monday, October 31, 2005

Yerma's Sudden Ending

Yerma was interesting because, as Christopher Maurer says in the introduction, "nothing happens (p. x)." The plot can be summarized - and not even in much oversimplification - as Yerma constantly bemoaning her lack of child to her unsympathetic husband until she suddenly - and somewhat anticlimactically - kills him. The ending itself, in the last five minutes is where any actual action seems to be, and it is the death of Juan.

I have mixed feelings about this ending because while I think that it embodies the despair and frustration that Yerma feels, it happens so suddenly and without much, if any, resolving event (for the play ends simply a paragraph after Juan's death) that I feel almost like I'm left hanging. It feels like something else should happen.

At the same time, I can see that leaving the audience in that sort of limbo where Yerma's actions cannot be changed, is evidence of Yerma's concluding remark: "I myself have killed my own son! (p. 188)" There will be no resolution to her conflict of wanting a child, now that Juan is dead.

Maybe I just don't like unhappy - or at least unresolved - endings, and that’s definitely the ending that Yerma has.

Betrayal and Endgame

Throughout my reading of Betrayal, all I could think about was how it seemed like a more realistic representation of Endgame. The settings were different, and the content of the dialogue was different, but all in all, they were very similar.

The pauses in the stage directions are the most obvious likenesses. Both Pinter and Beckett want their characters to communicate just as much, if not more, through their silences, as through the words they speak. While descerning meaning behind Beckett's silences can be difficult because of the almost nonsensical flow of conversation and pretty much barren plot, Pinter's silences in Betrayal are loaded with memories and unspoken suspicions and accusations. Admittedly, there is not much of a plot to Betrayal either, but at least the relationships between the characters are more defined, and the setting is relatable. The first scene places Jerry and Emma, former lovers, meeting together after several years apart. The conversation is slow and polite. The pauses that fill the dialogue can be used by the actors to generate a variety of emotions; awkwardness, perhaps, or regret, or nosalgia.

Another likeness to Endgame is the simplistic set. Beckett calls specifically for a bare room with two window, and little else. Pinter is concerned more with the action between the characters than with their surroundings. Each scene begins with a very brief description of the surroundings: "Scene Two. Jerry's House. Study. 1977. Spring (p. 13)." Pinter doesn't give any indication as to what Jerry's study might look like, but leaves that decision up to the director. The set could be elaborate or sparse, but by leaving out any specifics, Pinter shows that his concern is with the characters.

Betrayal also has few characters; Endgame consisted only of four. Pinter limits the dialogue to the three involved with the love-triangle he describes: Jerry, Emma, and Robert. This too, is important: Pinter is not concerned with any outsider's opinion of the affair between Jerry and Emma. Does Jerry's wife have suspicions? If Robert was having affairs, then perhaps Jerry's wife is too, and everyone is playing everybody. Do Robert's partners know that he is married? All of these viewpoints are excluded because he wants the focus to be on only these three.