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The End: the Apocalyptic in In-Yer-Face Drama a Thesis

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The End: the Apocalyptic in In-Yer-Face Drama a Thesis THE END: THE APOCALYPTIC IN IN-YER-FACE DRAMA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY MUSTAFA BAL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE JULY 2009 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences ____________________________ Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ____________________________ Prof. Dr. Wolf König Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ____________________________ Assist. Prof. Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez Supervisor Examining Committee Members Dr. Deniz Arslan (METU, ELIT) ____________________________ Assist. Prof. Dr. Margaret Sönmez (METU, ELIT) ____________________________ Assist. Prof. Dr. Can Abanazır (Haliç Uni., ACL) ____________________________ Dr. Hasan İnal (AU, ELIT) ____________________________ Dr. Hülya Yıldız (METU, ELIT) ____________________________ I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Mustafa Bal Signature: iii ABSTRACT THE END: THE APOCALYPTIC IN IN-YER-FACE DRAMA Bal, Mustafa Ph.D., English Literature Program Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez July 2009, 236 pages This thesis presents a close analysis of one of the ageless discourses of human life – apocalypse, or the End – within the highly controversial In-Yer-Face drama of the 1990s British stage. The study particularly argues that there is a strong apocalyptic sense in the plays of the decade, and it discovers that the apocalyptic representation within these plays varies. Five plays by three prominent playwrights of the decade are used to illustrate and expand the focus. After a detailed examination of the apocalyptic discourse, it is claimed that Mark Ravenhill’s Shopping and F***ing and Faust is Dead are based on certain philosophical ideas of the End, Anthony Neilson’s Normal and Penetrator reveal the apocalyptic through an extreme use of violence, and Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis comingles representations of the apocalyptic and psychological trauma. Keywords: apocalypse, End, In-Yer-Face drama, Mark Ravenhill, Anthony Neilson, Sarah Kane, Shopping and F***ing, Faust is Dead, Normal, Penetrator, 4.48 Psychosis. iv ÖZ SON: “IN-YER-FACE” TİYATROSUNDA APOKALİPS Bal, Mustafa Doktora, İngiliz Edebiyatı Programı Danışman: Yrd. Doç. Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez Temmuz 2009, 236 sayfa Bu tez 1990’larda İngiltere’de ortaya çıkan ihtilaflı tiyatro türü “In-Yer- Face” tiyatrosunda insanlığın eskimeyen konularından biri olan apokalips, diğer tabiriyle sonlanış söylevini incelemektedir. Çalışma özellikle bu oyunlarda güçlü bir apokaliptik anlam olduğunu ve apokaliptik betimlemenin oyundan oyuna farklılık gösterdiğini savunmaktadır. Konunun açıklanması ve örneklenmesinde dönemin önemli üç yazarı tarafından yazılan beş oyun ele alınmaktadır. Apokaliptik söylemin derin bir inceleme ve açıklamasının ardından tez Mark Ravenhill’in Shopping and F***ing ve Faust is Dead isimli iki oyununun sonlanış ile ilgili belli başlı felsefelere dayandığını, Anthony Neilson’ın Normal ve Penetrator isimli iki oyununun apokalipsi aşırı şiddet betimlemeleriyle ortaya koyduğunu, ve Sarah Kane’in 4.48 Psychosis isimli oyununun apokaliptik betimlemeleri psikolojik travma ile birleştirdiğini öne sürmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: apokalips, son, In-Yer-Face tiyatrosu, Mark Ravenhill, Anthony Neilson, Sarah Kane, Shopping and F***ing, Faust is Dead, Normal, Penetrator, 4.48 Psychosis. v To Truth vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez is just like… a Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez; one of a kind. She has always been so supportive and encouraging. Without her more-than-words-can-express guidance and supervision, which was always timely and illuminating, I may have had difficulties in finding the right ways for the composition of this thesis. Her academic excellence and continually-motivating attitude, not to mention her sparkling and startling intelligence, make me wish to write another PhD thesis with the same supervisor. She has been the Ariel of my thesis. Thank you, Dr. Margaret Sönmez. Dr. Hasan İnal is one of the best human beings I have ever met. He has supported me since the beginning. Let alone his points which helped me put my ideas into a frame, his sole presence in my thesis progress committees was enough to provide me with the calmest of minds in writing this thesis. He has been the Merlin of my thesis. Thank you, Dr. İnal. There should be more human beings like you. And, Dr. Can Abanazır is one of the best aliens I have ever seen. I took fifteen courses from him for all three of my degrees, and it was an honour for me to see him in my PhD thesis jury, too. His literary perspective and comments as well as his flashy ideas that suddenly emanate from his glittering eyes have always triggered my creative productivity. He has been the Gandalf of my thesis. Thank you, Dr. Abanazır, for always being around. I also would like to thank Dr. Deniz Arslan and Dr. Hülya Yıldız both of whom I regret to have met late. Dr. Arslan has always led me to critical thinking, and has been very kind throughout the whole period. vii Dr. Yıldız also has contributed a great deal to the betterment of the work. Thank you. I will never forget my friend Özlem Türe Abacı’s all sorts of help during my PhD study period at METU. She has always been a very good person and friend. I heartily wish that she gets the best of everything in life. Thank you, Özlem. Dr. Erkan Türe both as my father-in-law and my one-time rector is another great person to whom I feel obliged for being a good model before me. I also would like to thank Dr. Ali Güneş for being very understanding during my study. My sincerest thanks also go to Dr. Cenk Saraçoğlu, a great friend with a great heart and mind, whose occasional motivations inspired me. I also would like to thank my mother who always beautifully sent to me her empowering and energizing words from her oceanic heart. I am sure she was not the only person to do this in my family. Emre, Sabri, Salih, İmran, Ferhan, Nihal… Thank you all. Reyyan, my beloved wife, has always given me her illimitable love, and been a warm, lovely and cosy home where I have found the peace of mind to write this thesis. I will ever live in this home. Think you, Reyyan. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM.....................................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT..........................................................................................................................iv ÖZ............................................................................................................................................v DEDICATION.....................................................................................................................vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................................................vii TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................................................ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................1 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND......................................................................4 3. PHILOSOPHICAL APOCALYPSE: MARK RAVENHILL’S SHOPPING AND F***ING AND FAUST IS DEAD……....................................................54 A. ‘I want it over. And there’s only one ending’: Shopping and F***ing..........................................................................54 B. ‘Reality died. It ended. And we began to live this dream, this lie, this new simulated existence’: Faust is Dead...........85 4. VIOLENT APOCALYPSE: ANTHONY NEILSON’S NORMAL AND PENETRATOR..................................................................................................106 A. ‘Brutality belongs to love’: Normal............................................106 B. ‘I’m not scared of blood on my hands, hot blood pouring on my hands’: Penetrator...............................................................134 5. TRAUMATIC APOCALYPSE: SARAH KANE’S 4.48 PSYCHOSIS....159 6. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................206 REFERENCES................................................................................................................214 ix APPENDICES A. CURRICULUM VITAE..............................................................................225 B. TURKISH SUMMARY...............................................................................227 x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION There are two sorts of dramatists. The first sort plays theatrical games with reality…The second sort of dramatists change reality. The Greeks and Shakespeare did it. Molière did it in his strangely modern, precariously balanced Misanthrope. Racine almost did it by confining rampaging passion in rigid structures - … Büchner did it by seeing justice from the point of view of the scaffold. Half- way through watching Blasted in a small,
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