“Go and watch.” Violence as a Power of the Theater
Dariusz KOSIŃSKI
Katedra Performatyki, Wydział Polonistyki, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, ul. Gołębia 14, room 69, 30-007 Kraków, Poland , PolandAbstract
The essay attempts to look at violence as a power constantly present in Western theater and having an important role in the interplay between desire and suppression, the motor of the social dynamics of the theater. In an analysis of texts of various theatrical genres, both historical (e.g. ancient tragedies, mystery plays, Jerzy Grotowski’ performances) and contemporary (e.g. The Cleansed by Sarah Kane, directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski), the author describes selected scripts in which violence plays a major role, and which, once staged, are ‘absorbed,’ often in an unconscious way, by the audience. Violent as they may be, the scripts in question often inspire acts transcending violence and its immediate result (i.e. death). As a result their dangerous potential is leveled and it is revealed that no one is free from a desire of violence.
