The Politics of Distraction: Spectatorial Freedom and (dis)Enfranchisement in Toneelgroep's Roman Tragedies

Abstract

The Politics of Distraction: Spectatorial Freedom and (dis)Enfranchisement in Toneelgroep's Roman Tragedies Natalie Corbett (bio) and Keren Zaiontz (bio) Written by William Shakespeare. Direction by Ivo Van Hove. Dramaturgy by Bart Van Den Eynde, Jan Peter Gerrits, and Alexander Schreuder. With Roeland Fernhout, Renée Fokker, Fred Goessens, Marieke Heebink, Chico Kenzari, Hans Kesting, Hugo Koolschijn, Hadewych Minis, Chris Nietvelt, Frieda Pittoors, Alwin Pulinckx, Halina Reijn, Eelco Smits, and Karina Smulders. Musicians include Bl!NDMAN: Ruben Cooman, Yves Goemaere, Ward De Ketelaere, and Hannes Nieuwlaet. Set and lighting design by Jan Versweyveld. Costume design by Lies Van Assche. Video by Tal Yarden. Music by Eric Sleichim. Produced by Toneelgroep Amsterdam. Co-production by Holland Festival (Amsterdam), La Monnaie (Bruxelles), Kaaitheatre (Bruxelles), Muziektheatre Transparant (Anvers), and BL!NDMAN (Bruxelles). Presented by Festival TransAmériques in Association with Monument National and Carrefour International de Théaˆtre de Québec, 28-30 May 2010. In the five-and-a-half-hour epic Roman Tragedies, staged by the prodigious Dutch ensemble Toneelgroep, Shakespeare's tragedies of Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra are performed in a sequence that traces political history from the beginnings of democracy to the globalized world of international politics. The trilogy, billed as "Shakespeare that jumps straight from the headlines [...] hurled into the heart of the contemporary world" offers an updating that seeks to investigate the mechanisms of state power and the nature of "man [sic] as a political animal" (FTA). Key to this twenty-first century interpretation of Shakespeare's texts is the production's encouragement of audience engagement, which implicates spectators as the absent public that bears witness to ongoing political turbulence. Audiences that attended the North American premiere at the 2010 Festival TransAmérique experienced both exceptional physical duration and proximity to the event while circulating between (and within) the auditorium and the stage during timed breaks. Within the context of an international festival known for its contemporary theatre and dance, the dynamics of reception in Roman Tragedies are the proud insignia of the "avant-garde" or experimental performance traditions. The production adopts slightly condensed versions of Shakespeare's dramaturgical structures, employs well-established conventions of disruption, and incorporates a realist mode of acting. However, the true experimentality of Roman Tragedies lies in linking the direct participation of audiences to a political commentary that dramatizes the dangers of (and desire for) distraction in a hypermediated world. Jan Versweyveld's set design casts the play's epic actions within a modern, anonymous corporate environment, populated by blandly geometric Swedish sofas, potted plants, Plexiglas and ubiquitous television monitors. Modular configurations within the stage space function interchangeably as committee boardroom and private living room, highlighting the porousness between the public and private lives being staged. Camera operators relentlessly film the actors, whose images are projected onto the screens on stage and in the wings, simultaneously remediated as live news broadcasts. When actors exit the stage they often remain visible on the periphery; hair and makeup stations line the stage right wing, brushing up against one of the stage-side food vendors. The dynamic of constant visibility created by this aesthetic of surveillance highlights the two most significant alterations to the original Shakespeare texts. Although nothing has been added, all battles have been replaced by extended spectacular sequences of flashing lights and violent bombastic sound, and all scenes in which the citizens speak have been cut. By collapsing [End Page 117] the unfolding stratagems and defining events of major wars to their final outcomes—and by excising all record of public response to the momentous political events depicted—the edited script presents a narrative relentlessly focused on the psychology of those few individuals within the highest echelons of power. Stripped of the minutiae of developing action, the balanced causal chains of Shakespeare's tragedies are reshaped into contemporary portraits of political manoeuvring, backroom dealings and press conferences, private scandals, and public obfuscation. Click for larger view View full resolution Julius Caesar: Brutus addresses the masses in a press conference. On stage, audiences seated on sofas watch the television address on screen. (l-r): Renée Fokker, Eelco Smits, Jacob Derwig, and Marieke Heebink. Photo by Jan Versweyveld...