Frames of violence and recent history in Simon Stephens' Motortown
British theatre is renowned for tackling topical, red-hot events pertaining to immediate history: the war in Iraq, for instance, prompted swift and diverse responses from British playwrights. The representation of recent history will be analysed in this paper through the representation of torture, a...
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Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Sillages Critiques |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/12440 |
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| author | Marion Coste |
| author_facet | Marion Coste |
| author_sort | Marion Coste |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | British theatre is renowned for tackling topical, red-hot events pertaining to immediate history: the war in Iraq, for instance, prompted swift and diverse responses from British playwrights. The representation of recent history will be analysed in this paper through the representation of torture, and more specifically the Abu Ghraib scandal, in Simon Stephens’s Motortown (2006). Written during the 7/7 bombings in London, the play is permeated with the sense of horror associated with the war against terror and the war in Iraq: it blurs the line between the frontlines and the home front, as Danny, a former squaddie, re-enacts on British soil the acts of torture inflicted on prisoners in Abu Ghraib. This paper will show how, drawing on In-Yer-Face aesthetics, the playwright subverts the framing of torture and reflects on the anti-war movement. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5ee906f2376d43948e85dc8674f75d8e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1272-3819 1969-6302 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte" |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sillages Critiques |
| spelling | doaj-art-5ee906f2376d43948e85dc8674f75d8e2025-01-30T13:47:11ZengCentre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"Sillages Critiques1272-38191969-63022022-01-013110.4000/sillagescritiques.12440Frames of violence and recent history in Simon Stephens' MotortownMarion CosteBritish theatre is renowned for tackling topical, red-hot events pertaining to immediate history: the war in Iraq, for instance, prompted swift and diverse responses from British playwrights. The representation of recent history will be analysed in this paper through the representation of torture, and more specifically the Abu Ghraib scandal, in Simon Stephens’s Motortown (2006). Written during the 7/7 bombings in London, the play is permeated with the sense of horror associated with the war against terror and the war in Iraq: it blurs the line between the frontlines and the home front, as Danny, a former squaddie, re-enacts on British soil the acts of torture inflicted on prisoners in Abu Ghraib. This paper will show how, drawing on In-Yer-Face aesthetics, the playwright subverts the framing of torture and reflects on the anti-war movement.https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/12440traumawarBritish theatreimmediate historyStephens (Simon)In-Yer-Face theatre |
| spellingShingle | Marion Coste Frames of violence and recent history in Simon Stephens' Motortown Sillages Critiques trauma war British theatre immediate history Stephens (Simon) In-Yer-Face theatre |
| title | Frames of violence and recent history in Simon Stephens' Motortown |
| title_full | Frames of violence and recent history in Simon Stephens' Motortown |
| title_fullStr | Frames of violence and recent history in Simon Stephens' Motortown |
| title_full_unstemmed | Frames of violence and recent history in Simon Stephens' Motortown |
| title_short | Frames of violence and recent history in Simon Stephens' Motortown |
| title_sort | frames of violence and recent history in simon stephens motortown |
| topic | trauma war British theatre immediate history Stephens (Simon) In-Yer-Face theatre |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/12440 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marioncoste framesofviolenceandrecenthistoryinsimonstephensmotortown |