ABSTRACT

Chapter 5, ‘The drama of no character’, looks at the implications of the notion of an independent character for the interpretation of dramatic material. The chapter tests the idea of a character independent of the actor against attempts in contemporary theatre at doing away with the concept of character altogether: by dramaturgical means (Samuel Beckett, Heiner Muller, Martin Crimp) and through approaches to acting based on ‘ambiguity’ (the work of the Irish actor Stephen Rea is used as an illustration). The chapter then places this discussion within the context of the theory of the ‘open’ or ‘closed’ work of art and asks whether creating a constructed character inevitably ‘closes’ the interpretation of dramatic material. To illustrate the point, a description is offered of the interesting approach taken by the Italian actor Maddalena Crippa when portraying Yelena in a production of Uncle Vanya by Chekhov directed by Peter Stein. The chapter concludes by returning to the sources of the debate on the relationship between actor and character in the writings of Stanislavski and Meyerhold.