A Postdramatic Analysis Of Attempts On Her Life

Attempts on Her Life is one of the most outstanding plays of Martin Crimp. It has been staged in many countries (regions) since its premiere at the Royal Court Theatre in 1997. Last year some Chinese audience also enjoyed the performance of it at Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. This play is a representative of Crimp's innovation of theatre forms, which is claimed by some critics to manifest the stylistic traits of postdramatic theatre.By analyzing the theatrical characteristics in Attempts on Her Life with the help of Hans-Thies Lehmann's postdramatic theories, this thesis argues that the play is a text written for stage. It breaks the traditions of theatre making, emphasizing presentation instead of re-presentation. It focuses on such aspects as the reality-status of performance, visceral impulses and social moments instead of the creation of dramatic illusions, meaning construction and action mimesis. By adopting this theatrical dramaturgy, Crimp enables spectators to appreciate the play from various channels, which is a great contribution to the development of theatre making.The main body of this thesis consists of three chapters. It starts with an introduction of Martin Crimp, his play Attempts on Her Life, Lehmann's postdramatic theories and a literature review. Chapter One discusses the reality-status of performance from two aspects. On the one hand, the play avoids creating a fictive cosmos by eliminating drama characters and destroying linear logic plots. On the other hand, it embraces the reality outside the stage through allowing both practitioners and spectators to participate in the theatre making. Chapter Two goes deep into the discussion of visceral impulses brought by the play as well as the consequent new perceptive mode. It provides audience with a rich energetic stimulation to their auditory and visual senses, thus wakening them from the numbed society overwhelmed by media images, and encouraging their critical responses to a complicated world. Chapter Three focuses on the situations and social moments the play presents on stage as well as their effects on audience's emotions and perceptions. This play puts its spectators into different situations where they can gain personal experiences within authentic social moments, aiming to enlighten them to think over such social issues as distorted emotions, immorality, violent wars and so on. Finally, a conclusion is drawn that Attempts on Her Life is created as a performance text which displays a series of stylistic traits of postdramatic theatre and reveals Martin Crimp's remarkable innovation in theatre experiment and his relentless effort in search of a more suitable way to express current social problems. Moreover, Crimp provides a panorama of the contemporary European society, where various social issues such as class conflicts, oppression, power disputes and wars are fully disclosed. It intends to enlighten spectators' self-reflections on those problems and thus reactivate their ethical consciousness and reconstruct a peaceful harmonious society.