Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
The 12th International IDEA Conference: Studies in English, Antalya, Türkiye, 18 - 20 Nisan 2018, ss.118, (Özet Bildiri)
Many ancient works such as Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes, Aeschylus’ Persians depicted war and its wounds
timelessly. In today’s world, war is still a very much contemporary issue and one
of the defining forces of life, as the contemporary world grapples with the
legacy of a new millennium that is perturbed by innumerable terrorist incidents
and wars.
British
theatre as any other literary forms has always been informed by the ruptures
around the world. As a response to contemporary conflicts and wars,
contemporary stage abounds in plethora of war depictions. Rather than giving a
romanticized or heroic portrayal of war, theatrical works have started to focus
on the traumatizing effects of war on soldiers and the civilians. Many of these
plays engaged in depictions of war are informed by the media coverages and the
accounts of the returned soldiers. Consisting
of testimonies of Argentinian and British war veterans fought in Falklands War
Lola Arias’ Minefield and referring to
the effects of war in Afghanistan Owen Sheers’ The Two Worlds of Charlie F. are performed by the interviewed
soldiers themselves providing an unusual experience for the contemporary
audience. Although they do not provide obvious examples, these plays
carry some features of verbatim theatre which is a new form of theatre based on
interviews with real people. In the light of verbatim theatre and trauma
theories, the perception of war and its effects in these plays will be discussed.
Keywords: British
theatre, verbatim theatre, trauma, war, Minefield, The Two Worlds of Charlie F.