Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2013-07-09 The Physical Theatre of War: Language, Memory, and Gender in Black Watch and War Horse Andrea M. Gunoe Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, and the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Gunoe, Andrea M., "The Physical Theatre of War: Language, Memory, and Gender in Black Watch and War Horse" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 3725. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3725 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Physical Theatre of War: Language, Memory, and Gender in Black Watch and War Horse Andrea Gunoe A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Megan Sanborn Jones, Chair Rodger Sorensen Darl Larsen Lisa Hall Hagen Department of Theatre and Media Arts Brigham Young University July 2013 Copyright © 2013 Andrea Gunoe All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT The Physical Theatre of War: Language, Memory, and Gender in Black Watch and War Horse Andrea Gunoe Department of Theatre and Media Arts, BYU Master of Arts The public’s perception of war is influenced by every media story they see, every account they read, and every story they hear. News telecasts and newspapers tend to lean towards a focus of the grand narratives of war such as political involvement and overarching strategy. Media such as books and film can tell a more personal narrative of the events of war and attempt to display how war “really is” through the use of written and visual language that focuses more on how things happened as opposed to simply what happened. Theatre provides a unique perspective on war as the audience and performers are in a shared space with performed events of war that are live and embodied by individual performers. Theatre’s unique attributes focus the audience towards a perception of the individual and his/her experience in war through the embodiment that is happening right in front of the audience. Physically based theatre narrows that existing theatrical focus to the body specifically in a way that makes the individual physical experience of the soldier the primary narrative. The politics and strategies of war will always be a secondary focus to the human body in the theatrical context. In this thesis, I examine two productions that come out of the United Kingdom in 2007: The National Theatre of England’s War Horse and The National Theatre of Scotland’s Black Watch. Through a close reading of these two productions I demonstrate physical- theatre’s ability to highlight the human experience and importance in war as it focuses on the individual body and its relationships with other individuals. As these works are accessed through an examination of the visual and stylized language of physical theatre, the creation and recollection of memory in war stories, and the significance of gender in war, the humanizing representations imbedded in physical-theatre become evident. This thesis comes as the United States and the United Kingdom are involved in conflicts across the globe; some in continuation of the same conflicts that existed at the time these two productions were produced. Soldiers have continued to face astonishing hardships in these endeavors. By highlighting the individual experience and human involvement in war, theatre going public perception can be drawn towards an awareness of the individuals who go to war and away from alienating images of and idealized soldier figures fighting for an overarching political cause. Keywords: Movement-Based Theatre, Physical Theatre, War, Memory, Masculinity. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank all those who have helped me through this process; Dr. Megan Sanborn Jones, for providing endless insight and support while continually challenging me into reaching my potential; Dean Rodger Sorensen, who has always seen my talent the way I dream of seeing it; Gregory Burke, for his candid and open willingness to support the investigations of a young scholar; My family, for supporting my educational and career aspirations with undeniable belief and curiosity. This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Sergeant First Class Allen P. Gunoe of the United States Army, who taught me the importance of seeing the worth of the individual. Hooah! Table of Contents ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................................... v Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 War Horse.............................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Black Watch .......................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Movement-based/Physical Theatre ........................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter Organization and Methodology ................................................................................................................. 12 The Languages of War ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Language of the Body ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 Empathy through Puppetry ......................................................................................................................................... 24 Empathy through Stylized Movement ..................................................................................................................... 36 Empathy through Juxtaposition ................................................................................................................................. 46 Memory of War ................................................................................................................................................... 52 Remembering Violence .................................................................................................................................................. 57 Remembering History .................................................................................................................................................... 66 Remembering as a Community................................................................................................................................... 75 The Ethics of Remembering ......................................................................................................................................... 83 Gender of War ..................................................................................................................................................... 88 Subverting the Soldier Stereotype ............................................................................................................................ 92 Adapting and Adopting the Soldier Stereotype ................................................................................................ 103 War’s Culture of Silence .............................................................................................................................................. 114 Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................... 124 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................................... 129 Full Figure Citations ........................................................................................................................................ 133 iv List of Figures Figure 1. Black Watch. 2011. Video still. Texas Performing Arts. _______________________________ 17 Figure 2. Harlan, Manuel. A Scene from Black Watch. 2008. Photograph. The Berkshire Review. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 18 Figure 3. War Horse a Magical and Historical Journey. Photograph. Nectar Tasting Room. _ 29 Figure 4. Joey Confronted. Photograph. Show & Stay Magazine. _______________________________ 32 Figure 5. Suchman, Scott. Black Watch. 2013. Photograph. American Conservatory