The Hell Scene and Theatricality in Man and Superman
233 The Amphitheatre and Ann’s Theatre: The Hell Scene and Theatricality in Man and Superman Yumiko Isobe Synopsis: Although George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman (1903) is one of his most important dramatic works, it has seldom been staged. This is because, in terms of content and direction, there are technical issues that make it difficult to stage. In particular, Act Three features a dream in Hell, where four dead characters hold a lengthy philosophical symposium, has been considered independent of the main plot of John Tanner and Ann Whitefield. Tanner’s dream emphatically asserts its theatricality by the scenery, the amphitheatre in the Spanish desert where Tanner dozes off. The scene’s geography, which has not received adequate attention, indicates the significance of the dream as a theatre for the protagonist’s destiny with Ann. At the same time, it suggests that the whole plot stands out as a play by Ann, to which Tanner is a “subject.” The comedy thus succeeds in expressing the playwright’s philosophy of the Superman through the play-within-a- play and metatheatre. Introduction Hell in the third act of Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy (1903) by George Bernard Shaw turns into a philosophical symposium, as the subtitle of the play suggests, and this intermediate part is responsible for the difficulties associated with the staging of the play. The scene, called “the Hell scene” or “Don Juan in Hell,” has been cut out of performances of the whole play, and even performed separately; however, the interlude by itself has attracted considerable attention, not only from stage managers and actors, but also from critics, provoking a range of multi-layered examinations.
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