ABSTRACT
The joy of An Oak Tree, according to Rebellato, is that it explains away how all theatre works, but then does it anyway. It shows us the mechanics of theatrical magic while it proceeds to put those mechanics in motion. And it's not just in theatre that we find this space. In the opening scene of An Oak Tree, there's a reminder that the magic of the stage is something inherent to human existence - as natural as play. In his notes for An Oak Tree, Crouch quotes actor and mime artist Étienne Decroux: For art to be, the idea of one thing must be given by another thing. Crouch also blurs the line between representation and transubstantiation. At the same time, while the play worries away at the distinction between representation and transubstantiation, Crouch is also aware of the fact that everything he puts on stage is automatically caught within the representational machinery of the theatre.
