نشریه تئاتر
سال سوم شماره 65 (تابستان 1395)

This paper aims at a psychoanalytic query on female characters (Meg and Maureen) in the play “Beauty Queen of Leenane” written by Martin McDonagh. Although it is one of the most notable works written in the twentieth century and has received significant awards, few critics have been written about it. Among the critics, this is the first time that two female characters of the play are psychoanalytically discussed based on Jacques Lacan’s psychology and with an emphasis on violence feature. What is originated in the play from psychological characters (especially the two female characters of the story) opens a door to psychoanalytic reading of the work. The play has two main female characters. One of them is Meg; an old woman over 70 years old who is desperately afraid of loneliness and who wants someone to permanently live with her to save her from loneliness and to do her personal services. For this reason, she returns her daughter Maureen from asylum to home. Meg’s harassment on the one hand and colonial status of Ireland at that time on the other hand resulted in an acute mental status of Maureen followed by sadism and finally caused a critical situation which resulted in the murder of her mother. In this paper, we enjoyed Trauma and Jouissance theories (by descriptive analytical method) by using Lacanian psychology in order to analyze violence in the characters of the play. These two features are comparable with the two female characters of the play. We can find traumatisms that resulted in trauma in Maureen’s critical conditions and Meg’s fear from loneliness. Following the trauma, Jouissance appears once it results in torture and harassment pleasure. Finally, Meg’s death can be psychoanalyzed from trauma and Jouissance perspective.

Herbert Blumer, the contemporary American sociologist, is one of the influential figures in the field of sociology on the micro level of individuals’ relations. Blumer’s theories on “symbolic interactionism” and “collective action” are his most important contribution to sociological studies. To him, human society consists of acting people, and the life of the society is derived from their joint action. Such relations not only determine many of the large-scale features of a society, but also are not coercive and external to it. Rather, they are created and controlled by actors and their actions. David Hare, the contemporary British playwright, is a writer who has a critical-political view on macro-level issues of human society in his works. Fanshen, a play by Hare, is the story of a Chinese village whose inhabitants, under the leadership of a communist movement viewed by Blumer as a large-scale structure, move gradually from individual action to a social-revolutionary event. The present paper aims to study this social act based on Blumer’s theories of “symbolic interactionism” and “collective action”, and renders a sociological reading of a Marxian dramatist’s reformist view in depicting a populist revolution.

A qualitative and quantitative study and also a study on publication of works related to Resistance Theater such as theater scripts and specialized books could be a reflection of growth and development level of such theater in Iran. Present paper is a descriptive – analytical study using statistics and data produced by “House of Book” and governmental institutions. First we will use tables, diagrams and pictures to study publication condition of books related to resistance theater in Iran (specially in early 2000’s and 2010’s) and what kind of problems and obstacles prevented publication of such books? problems include: ignorance of private and public institutions and organizations to publish works related to resistance theater, economic obstacles, educational and contextual weak points, limited number of published books, problems in book distribution system, mismanagement and lack of proper planning, working to be noticed in festivals, working for celebrations, lack of interest for audience, ignorance toward research activities, book censorship, publication concentration in capital, decrease of investment in cultural and art section will be discussed. Fallowing is mentioned in publication condition of books related to Resistance Theater has a direct significant relation to state and qualitative level of Resistance Theater in Iran. Publication of works related to Resistance Theater will reach a proper qualitative and quantitative level whenever there is stability and required planning in policymaking, budget allocation, management and planning. Lack of required policy making and will in this area have led to constant stagnation, fluctuation and lack of programming in publication of Resistance Theater books.

This research has a cultural look over three decades of Iranian Drama (19802010) to find out procedure of identical changes. Ten dramas have been studied from each decade to analyze. Different aspects of characters, dialogues, conflicts, space, time and theme are considered, then described based on Manuel Castells theory to find out identical portions of National, Traditional, Religious and Modern identity. Context of dramatic discourse is also in consideration due to find out the influence of historical and social background on complicity of texts. Findings indicate on Legitimating identity in 60’s and Resistance identity In 70’s. Journalistic language, direct moral advice, simple characters and revolutionary themes can be named as the feature of 60‘s dramas. Iranian drama moves toward intellectual approach in70’s in front of fundamental 60’s values. Marginalized concepts of modernity came in focus by immergence of new civil class in 70’s dramatic texts. In 80’s we couldn’t find any mark of Project-identity .This finding represents human alienation that shows a gap between man and rest of the world.

During the past three decades the ‘fragmented writing’ style has developed as a literary breed and has turned into a symbol of the contemporary era and its calamities. Theatrical writing has not been an exception to this, as it has had a lot to offer to the world’s literary and artistic treasury in the form of various novel experiences. That is why, this research has found it inevitable to investigate the roots, methods, structural elements and semantic implications of fragmented writing, as an artistic practice symptomatic of our times. The research asks questions such as: what was the causes of diminishing the old, consistent aesthetics of 'Aristotle's Rhetoric' and replaced it by fragmented writing? Who are the effective individuals and movements that have led this transition in the theatre realm? What are the specific features and aims of fragmented writing aesthetics, as an alternative to the Aristotelian one? Considering the questions presented above, and despite the lack of much solid theoretical resources on the fragmented writing aesthetics specially in theatre – and certainly in Persian language – this research attempts to provide a structured framework on the definition, evolutional trajectory, influences, opportunities and challenges of fragmented writing method. For this, the research seeks to illustrate the relationship between fragmented writing to its contemporary philosophical trend – Pluralism. Further, the study endeavors to explicate the emergence of the fragmented writing’s historical and social context as an aesthetic style and identify its theoretical framework. Moreover, this study tries to clarify the terminological and implicational difficulties of the concept of the fragmented writing and particularly one of its important and basic arguments namely the differentiation between the "modern fragmented writing'" and the "postmodern fragmented writing". Last, the fragmented writing historical trajectory of evolution within the theatrical sphere is discussed and eventually in the final part of the paper, some of its aesthetic influences, opportunities and challenges are addressed. The research findings demonstrate that a collection of political, social, economic, etc. motives – which have caused the consistent and definite image of self, reality and truth become fragmented and scattered, known as Pluralism in the postmodern era – have provided fertile grounds for the fragmented writing to become the main and dominant form of writing in this period. This type of writing, as shown by this study, is the best translation and carrier of what is generally known as ‘sharing in art’ in contemporary cultural milieus.

Taziyeh is a genre in Iranian Theater in which the religious music is an essential element. Throughout the Islam world and also Iran, Ta’ziyeh has played an important role in promoting Islam and Shiism. Religious music, is devised into Maddahi and Ta’zieh. There has been remained only a trace of Maddahi, and if we dont pay enough attention to the heritage of Ta’ziyeh, it would undergo the same destiny and it would suffer from the same problem. In Ta’ziyeh, there are two kinds of music : Instrumental and Vocal. Instrumental music has no much to do with the context of Ta’ziyeh, but Destgah and Vocal music is the central background of Ta’ziyeh plays. It goes without saying that, each nation do its best in order to keep its valuable ancient entries, so that it could be transferred to the coming generations. But the questions raised here are as follows : has our country had made any effort to preserve Ta’ziyeh and religious music or not? How could Iranian Destgah survive using Taziyeh plays? This research has tried to show the importance and the introduction of religious music in Iran and its representation in Ta’ziyeh plays and at last, to come to this conclusion that the preservation of Iranian Destgah music can provide a context for formation and preservation of Iranian Ta’ziyeh plays.

Numerous dramatic characters enormously appeal to us on account of the fact that they are powerfully present on the stage. Nevertheless, there exist characters who do not physically appear on stage, yet their “absent presence” is so strong that affects the characters who do appear physically on stage. William Gruber in his book “Offstage Space, Narrative, and the Theatre of Imagination” suggests that the “absent presence” of the main characters who live in “offstage space” opens up new possibilities for the playwrights. Examples of such plays can be found from classic canon to modern plays. The present study attempts to explore the “assent presence” in Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” and illustrate how the main character of the play, who does not appear on stage throughout the play, is pivotal to the action of the play and is created vividly in the imagination of readers/ audience and remains a strong character in dramatic literature.