tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post952665239927904289..comments2023-09-20T14:34:21.102+02:00Comments on Postcards from the Gods: Où sont les Intellectuels du Publique?Andrew Haydonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05568061302451610140noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-53124198166169186512009-09-11T17:16:52.942+02:002009-09-11T17:16:52.942+02:00Great piece. My only question would be whether a p...Great piece. My only question would be whether a post-structuralist might have understood Seven Jewish Children better than most commentators, who seemed to lack any resources for understanding language, in its lacunae, iterability and performativity, all of which seemed to me crucial to what was going on in that show.<br /><br />In other words, as 'Anonymous' says above, some journalistic critical writing naturalises content and is impatient with form, and poststructuralists are good at patiently looking at how the formal aspects of language and performance can de-nature content.<br /><br />A poststructural take on Gethsemane might also be interesting, if only to loosen the hold of the present moment, which reifies the content of Hare's work over its form. I don't know if the formal content of the play would repay that work, but without asking the question we never know. He himself has variously commented on the strange way his plays takes on new meanings years later - though he is generally keen to resist this process...Dan Rnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-6561217830157122222009-09-08T00:20:31.090+02:002009-09-08T00:20:31.090+02:00The problem with the 'social realistic' fo...The problem with the 'social realistic' form used in a lot of British theatre (Hare etc.) is that it is completely normalised. The means of production of the apparent 'reality' we are seeing on stage aim towards invisibility. Thus we are guided to look at the content as opposed to the form. The formal aspects seem 'natural'. It's a clever trick in... Read more that we then either don't question these elements or because they do not flag themselves up we feel that there is nothing of substance there to analyse. But there is plenty there that has been/can be and needs to be analysed precisely because this illusion of 'naturalness' ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-52430242389109466422009-09-07T16:41:24.175+02:002009-09-07T16:41:24.175+02:00Indeed. At the top of my original post, in fact, I...Indeed. At the top of my original post, in fact, I go on at quite some length about where to find this kind of extended thinking and writing about theatre, and it's not hard to find (as you confirm yourself by citing the Routledge series, which is a very good point). The question then becomes, as you note, a question of venue. Perhaps it would be more to the point to direct people to it rather than erroneously suggest that it doesn't exist, as Waters does. And so far as hoping that there is some resurgence of this in the broader media -- well, head, I'd like to introduce you to brick wall. That this conversation has now covered three continents indicates the efficacy of at least this one medium to disseminate the conversation, as dour as it sometimes gets.George Hunkahttp://www.georgehunka.com/blognoreply@blogger.com