The Theatre of Michel Vinaver - Essay Example

Vinaver considers that the role of the dramatist is to use ironic Vinaver considers that the role of the dramatist is to use ironic humor to uncover the world in an unexpected light." Discuss and illustrate with reference to Dissident, il va sans dire Titus Rock Manickam Order No. 299278 12 May 2009 Table of Contents Introduction''''''''''''''''''''''.3 Dissident, il va sans dire''''''''''''''''..3 Consistence''''''''''''''''''''''6 Conclusion''''''''''''''''''''''..8 Sources'''''''''''''''''''''''...9 Vinaver considers that the role of the dramatist is to use ironic humor to uncover the world in an unexpected light." Discuss and illustrate with reference to Dissident, il va sans dire Introduction Michel Vinaver has that smug, content look when he says that economies relate to the privacy of people. Economy is the transformation of the insignificant raw material to something more useful to society. Vinaver also says that he always aspired to be a writer without knowing how to go about it (Michel Vinaver, playwright of real). Vinaver certainly knows what he is talking about. From a highly successful career at Gillette to an equally successful stint at the theatre, Vinaver has come a long way rather effortlessly. Probably it is this habit of sticking to successful ventures and at the same time pursuing his dreams that has been responsible for Vinaver's positive outcome in all his works. When he left Gillette in 1986, he was an acclaimed playwright and writer. Dissident, il va sans dire The story comes across as a contemporary, issue-based relationship between a mother and her 17-year old son. However, the relationship goes through testing times as a result of the son, 1Philippe's tryst with drugs and his arrest in this connection. His mother, Helena wishes to communicate reason to her son. ________________________________________________________________ 1Adoloscence is a time of test. The problem is compounded due to Helene's position as a single mother. H'l'ne: Tu ne me dis jamais rien [You can never tell me anything]. Philippe: Je te dis tant de choses tout le temps [I tell you so much all the time] (Dissident, il va sans dire). The stark difference in the attitude of the characters does not need reason. The reasons exist, but they are not tackled in the play. Vinaver takes the scene right across the audience and uncannily tests their power of imagination. Strangely enough the audience comfortably lap up the reason. The scene is right out of the normal home where there is a teenaged son. The catch is in the way the scenes are presented in bits and pieces. The audience is at the edge grappling with the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle when all of a sudden there is a move, a particular scene that provides a breakthrough. The reaction is almost the thrilling climax of a long and difficult journey (Factors Unforeseen). Helena is concerned about her son's misbehavior. However, she is not keen on losing her son and so does everything possible to make him understand without rocking the boat. She does not want to lose him. On the other hand, Philippe is not too keen on snapping the relationship either. His behavior and attitude may show signs of the coming moment when he is all ready to break out of his mother's confining influence. However, he does not do it. What he does is, however, criminal. The disjoint in the big picture is very clear. The audience wants this breach to be cleared. The happy ending is elusive. Vinaver is master stroke player in the realm of presentations. He may not be the ideal narrator. He does not provide a commentary. However, he makes his world by fitting in the pieces rather than do it one-step-at-a-time. He is adept at keeping the audience in humor although he does not allow them to ease down on the suspense. The glass pieces in the kaleidoscope may change in form and color. But he uses the time element to project the solutions in sharp, almost quixotic variations. Philippe may do all that Helena does not want him to do, but he is not ready to face the world alone. He works as laborer on hire in citro'n plants. There he becomes bound to a small gang of youths who initiate him to the world of drugs. He finds some solace from mundane life in drugs. He even traffics on drugs. The dilemma of the young man is all too clear but it is lost on the audience who are expecting a positive development. The problem is there is no development. The script moves from one scene to another without any semblance of sequence. However, the entire play is so positioned that it starts dawning on the audience that they are on the right track. But only just. It is like seeing the end from the beginning. Only the audience is caught up with the presentations of the moment. In the process, the outcome is lost on them for want of certain pieces that have not been shown to them. The problem between Helene and Philippe is the gulf that has started to separate them. Helene wants the gulf out of the way. Philippe could not care less. He lives for the day. He know tomorrow will take care of itself. But he is not prepared to face tomorrow without Helene. The secret of Philippe breaking out of his vice rests on his snapping ties with his friends' circle. However, Vinaver does not waste any time in even trying to touch on this point in the play. His depiction consists of presenting the moves of both sides as they occur. The economy of actions in his plays does not allow Vinaver to venture beyond the immediate occurrences. The next scene could be totally unrelated to the previous episode. However, Vinaver keeps the audience hooked to the scenes because they occur between two antagonists who are supposed to be protagonists. The whole issue is tied to the relationships between the two characters due to which they have to live with each other and face each other come what may. Consistence The play is not clear about the marital situation of Helene. She is divorced from her rich husband. That is all that is known about the husband and the wife. From then on, the storyline concentrates on the mother and son. There is enough suspense among these two characters to spoil it or overcrowd it with the third person, even if it happens to be her ex-husband. None among the two will indulge in any blame game or reminiscence of the past. Vinaver does not go back on time. His work is devoid of time. It is all a matter of provision and the way it is done. The important element to watch is the humor of the audience. Humor must not give way to frustration. That will be suicidal. However, there is some blas'. It is blas' in the sense that the solution was so simple. But the solution would not be there without the scene that provided the blas'. That would have kept the audience in a tight corner. Nonetheless, the blas' conveys that there are ordinary elements in the play that make the play extra-ordinary on the whole. The play is interspersed with events. The flow of the events is missing. Rather it is the connection between the events and the audience that the writer seems to achieve (Bradby, David). The consistence in the play is not lost on the audience. Otherwise the play will become damp squib. We see in Dissident, il va sans dire a revolt by a young man. Vinaver does not provide the background to the revolt. He portrays it as it happens. It is left for the audience to decide why the revolt is taking place. The situation is quite ordinary. There are thousands of drug addicts and peddlers in the world. What is extra-ordinary about Philippe' The beauty is that the story lays open the question for all the thousands of drug addicts in the world. Each addict has had an unhappy background. The extra-ordinary thing about Philippe is he is telling the story on behalf of the world of addicts. The ordinary moments in the life of this addict becomes extra-ordinary in the way the story is unfolded. He is arrested. That moment is extra-ordinary! (Kramer, Jacques). The climax of the story is that the audience is awestruck! The knitting together of all the events has worked. The sophistication in the play is the character of Philippe. The background support is provided by Philippe's mother. She plays the role of a possessive mother. She unsuccessfully tries to be the father as well. The void is palpably felt because of the absence of the father. Had his father been around, Philippe's life might have taken a different turn. However, Vinaver will never dwell on probabilities. That will mean adding more and more probabilities. He economizes on actions and allows only those actions that are capable of conveying meaning and conclusion. Conclusion If the works of Michel Vinaver is not in the forefront it is because in France it is the director who is powerful and visible. As a playwright, Vinaver is one of the best in France and, perhaps, even the rest of Europe. Dissident, il va sans dire is magnificent in form and display. It is also superb in content. The rhythm of the story is lost due to the juxtaposing of events but it is not lost on the audience whose interest is intact due to the closing of gaps in steady intervals. Vinaver's strategy of holding the audience's interest is the key to his success. He does not leave anything undone. It is the master of this strategy that has proved his success in the corporate world as well as in the tinsel world. Sources: Bradby, David; The Theatre of Michel Vinaver, books.google.com/books'isbn=0472103261... Dissident, il va sans dire, http://www.momix.org/2009/dissident_dossier.pdf Factors Unforeseen, http://www.orangetreetheatre.co.uk/ Kramer, Jacques; Dissident it goes without saying, http://translate.google.co.in/translate'hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.theatre-contemporain.net/spectacles/dissident_jk/presentation.htm&ei=p2gJSsetFYSMkAXageGjCw&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DDISSIDENT,%2BIL%2BVA%2BSANS%2BDIRE%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG Michel Vinaver, playwright of real; Le Monde.fr, 23.01.2009, www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2009/01/23/michel-vinaver-dramaturge-du-reel_1145896_3246.html Walters, Sam; French Studies, The Theatre of Michel Vinaver, http://fs.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/L/2/234-a Read More

 

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