Monster and Khôra: Re-Imagining the Performing Body with Plato

Abstract

This article offers a deconstructive reading of two imaginary constructs in Plato’s work. The first is the allegory of the psychè presented in Book IX of the Republic, and the second is the khôra discussed in Timaeus. Both discourses conceal an idea of corporality that the art of acting – that is, bodies in the performing arts – has traditionally manifested. The absence of the imaginary function and its replacement by the plastic paradigm of “moulding” or “shaping” require bodily mediation and lead to the idea of a plastic logos, where the two aspects of logos – language and reason – can unify. This conclusion is noteworthy when considering the theatrical elements of the Platonic dialogues in contrast to their simultaneous and apparently anti-theatrical arguments. It also aids contemporary performance practice in liberating itself from psychological and anthropomorphic interpretations of imagination.