Reading through this week’s materials is quite a wonderful adventurous journey. Brecht on Theatre, Theatre of the Oppressed and Performance all touched upon what should theatre (performance) do as well as its capability of affecting human society, especially in the modern age of science. The approaches and the focuses, however, did vary.
Brecht began with questioning the essence of theatre, and following the footsteps of Aristotle, he concluded that it is a representation of men’s life together in human society, and it should be of sheer entertainment, a “purification which is performed not only in a pleasurable way, but precisely for the purpose of pleasure”. However, it does not mean that theatre brings nothing but laughter to the world. It’s aesthetic meaning truly lies in its unique way of creating alienation and how it reflects on people’s inner feelings and makes a difference, as “the pleasure felt… must be converted into the higher pleasure felt when the rules emerging from this life in society are treated as imperfect and provisional”. In fact, such conclusion leads back to the first chapter in Theatre of the Oppressed, where Boal traces back to the very origin of poetry, theatre and tragedy and lands on Aristotle’s theory of art as recreation. According to Aristotle, art is the recreation of all creating principles of nature, and it even goes beyond into self perfection in order to correct where nature has failed. Based on this statement, Aristotle also developed the idea of “the sovereign art”, which is the rules above all kinds-Politics. “Nothing is alien to politics, because nothing is alien to the superior art that rules the relations among men”, therefore every art is associated to the vast horizon of politics, and bringing its education within each performance.
Performance acknowledged the fundamental theory of theatre as art, yet explored performance as well as its interaction with politics from a broader perspective, which is relatively new but also universal. As an extension of Aristotle’s “imitation”, the crucial term “doing” is brought into sight in supplement, strengthening the value of acting, repeating with difference, and transmitting memory, knowledge, cultural identities, etc. With such strong social element and bond, performance spontaneous but also legitimately enters the field of politics and activism, where its core of entertainment becomes the best strategy and method.