Theatre art history and contemporary practice

Dee:

The Shape of Things, a play by Neil LaBute, (A) expands on the central themes of society's distortional emphasis on appearances, and art as a potentially limitless and human-sculpting instrument. Linearly structured in three acts, the plot closely follows the problematic evolution of a student couple from a Midwest university. Starting as a discrepant match, Evelyn and Adam develop an oddly unequal relationship, as the former increasingly impacts major changes in the apparel and psychological onset of her partner, who complies with every single suggestion out of innocent devotion.

The public clarification scene from the third act has a great potential for theatricality due to the fact that it comes across as a bitter surprise and a ruthlessly planned humiliation, yet admittedly it challenges the cultural and ethical boundaries concerning art and the human being as object for art. The reason why a large part of the audience exhibits revulsion at every stage of the presentation is that they perceive a major disregard of personhood in Evelyn's stealth and methodic sculpturing of another individual. Specifically, Adam had not been aware that he was being manipulated as case study, and harbored genuine feelings for his girlfriend which caused him to overlook the continuous mutations that she diligently inflicted. Furthermore, as Evelyn proceeds to unveil her carefully designed project, she exposes the underlying truth behind society's endorsement of attractiveness standards: that they are just as misleading as they are unquestionably favored.

Allegory can be identified in many instances throughout the play. For instance, the two main characters' names are strikingly similar to the primordial biblical couple, Adam and Eve, and might suggest that Adam is destined to be lead astray by his female counterpart's innate manipulative machinations. Alternatively, their relationship bears a resemblance to that of Frankenstein and his creator, as depicted by Mary Shelley in her work. Moreover, the name Mercy College may just as well be Adam's final cry, as it alludes to Evelyn's blatant lack of delicacy and the trauma that her heartless endeavors inflict on his life.

(B) Evelyn's illuminating presentation is the climatic part of the play, highly dramatic, and it presents a great potential for theatricality. Specifically, the manner in which she presents her before-and-after observations on Adam's transformation has a shocking effect on the unknowing audience. It is this scene that demands reflection and raises the most questions, such as how or when people are willing to change and compromise during a relationship. The most notable cinematic element in The Shape of Things could be the sharp ongoing dialogue. In addition, the incipit scene where Evelyn defaces the museum sculpture for being, in her perception, untrue, is an excellent foreshadowing technique that anticipates her pursuit of the same authenticity afterwards with Adam.

Overall, Evelyn's actions are consistent with what she considers to be the artist's mission, namely to uncover the truth and challenge the falsehoods that hide it. From this point-of-view, her approach is somewhat convergent with Tolstoy's idea of art's function in our times, which he described as primarily showcasing truth without aiming for aesthetics or enjoyment, because beauty is subjective (Allen 15). On the other hand, Evelyn's thesis project departs from Tolstoy's prerogative that art ought to be grounded in moral righteousness, because she methodically overruns Adam's free will. In fact, her emotionless control of Adam's life and sculpting of his form and will indicates that she may well be a psychopath. However, her peculiar installment could be evocative of vanitas, because it is aimed at exposing society's meaningless attachment to The Shape of Things.

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard (A) is a densely packed play, structured in two acts and seven scenes. The title is connected to the symbolically conveyed garden from Sidley Park, which is an ambivalent symbol for the primordial environment as Lady Croom perceives it, namely in accordance with the classical outlook, which nevertheless cannot elude the disorder inherent in human life, as individuals adversely impact the natural environment, even in the attempts to better acknowledge it, namely through the picturesque landscape endeavors - endorsed by Mr. Noakes.

Tom Stoppard employs the mathematical Chaos Theory to deal with the matter of repetitive, irreversible, deterministic yet unpredictable nature of time, as tackled by both art and science (Antakyalioglu 93). The author might somehow wish to demonstrate that, as little as physics and literature have in common, it's possible that they converge in dealing with the same problems and concerns related to existence (Antakyalioglu 87). What is more, Arcadia is basically a journey towards truth, and poses the question of whether the best path to discovering it is by use of reason or by use of intuition as primary instrument. By translating scientific concepts through art, the play suggests that this particular medium -- due to its inherent potential for dramatic performance -- is more readily understood than typical scientific language. In fact, the contrasting notions of regularity and irregularity, Classicism and Romanticism, sex and science, or order and chaos are strongly engraved in all of the events occurring at Sidley Park, the setting being the only stable element throughout the play.