Directing 'The Absolute' : towards destabilising the victim/perpetrator binary in Sam Shepard's A lie of the mind (1985)

Abstract

This study aims to investigate and directorially apply Antonin Artaud's concept of The Absolute in order to destabilise the victim/perpetrator binary between the characters Beth and Jake in Sam Shepard's play text, A lie of the mind (1986). Previous theoretical analyses of Beth and Jake in A lie of the mind frame them as victims of their circumstances and as victims and perpetrators of violence (Bottoms 1998:16). I will explore the violent relationship between them in the context of the victim/perpetrator binary set up in the original play and re-imagine this binary by creating a radical reinterpretation of the relationship between the characters in a theatre production titled ? (2015). I argue that a directorial treatment of The Absolute assists in destabilising the victim/perpetrator binary present in Beth and Jake's relationship. To reinterpret Beth and Jake's relationship, I explore René Girard's notions of violence, victimisation, and scapegoating, as well as the Artaudian notions of Cruelty, The Absolute, and the Theatre of Cruelty. I apply the Girardian concepts and vocabulary to a reading of the relationship between Beth and Jake. I also discuss the ways in which Artaud and Girard conceptually relate to one another. I then provide a practical exploration within the framework of the Theatre of Cruelty by creating an original production, ? (2015), in which The Absolute facilitates the destabilisation of the victim/perpetrator binary that exists between Beth and Jake. In ? (2015), the relationship between Beth and Jake is reconceptualised and reinterpreted through taking cognisance of the Artaudian-Girardian framework. This dissertation concludes that Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty and the notion of The Absolute are able to destabilise the victim/perpetrator binary between Beth and Jake by replacing sexual desire in their relationship with transcendental love, and reconstructing and reimagining their relationship accordingly.