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Beat the Devil: A Covid Monologue adlı Oyunda David Hare’in Koronavirüs Anıları ve Siyasi Öfkesi

Year 2023, Volume: 17 Issue: 2, 183 - 193, 29.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1290670

Abstract

Beat the Devil: A Covid Monologue (2020) adlı oyununda David Hare, Mart 2020’nin ortasından Nisan ayının ilk haftasına Covid-19 pandemisinin erken dönemi boyunca devam eden hastalık dönemini kişisel olarak anlatır. Bu monolog oyunda Hare, koronavirüs saldırısına uğramış bedeninin çöküşünü ele alır ve sonra iyileşme sürecinin üzerinde durur. Bir yandan bu oyun, oyun yazarının Covid-19 virüs deneyiminin bireysel bir kaydı gibi görünür. Öte yandan, Hare’in Birleşik Krallık ve dünyadan virüsle ilgili haberleri anlatımı krizin ulusal ve kolektif belleğini ortaya çıkarmasını sağlar. Çoğunlukla siyasi gerçeklikler ve güncel konular hakkında çalışan bir oyun yazarı olan Hare, belirsiz durumlarla baş edemeyen liderleri eleştirmek üzere bireysel hafızasını ve pandeminin kolektif kaydını birbirinin içine geçirir. Böylece, Hare’in anıları siyasi yorumunun yanı sıra, ülkede insanları virüse karşı korumada başarısız olan Muhafazakar Parti’ye konu geldiğinde yazarın tonu öfke ve hayal kırıklığıyla dolu olduğundan aynı zamanda siyasi öfkesini ortaya çıkarır. Bu çalışma Hare’in Beat the Devil isimli monolog oyununda oyun yazarının otobiyografik ve kolektif belleği kullanımını analiz eder ve Hare’in koronavirüsü ele alışındaki sitasi öfkeyi ifade etmesini değerlendirir.

References

  • Akbar, A. (2020, August 30). Fiennes animates stage with Hare’s covid rage. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/aug/30/beat-the-devil-review-bridge-theatre-london-david-hare-ralph-fiennes
  • Bakare, L. (2021, May 8). Look back in awe: Hare invokes Osborne’s spirit to save today’s theatre. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/may/08/david-hare-covid-uk-theatre-john-osborne-revolution-blue-plaque-english-heritage-playwright
  • Ball, P. (2020). David Hare’s fiery account of Covid-19. The Lancet, 396(10255), 878-879. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31974-7.
  • Billington, M. (2007). State of the nation: British theatre since 1945. Faber and Faber.
  • Boon, R. (2003). About Hare: The playwright and the work. Faber and Faber.
  • Boon, R. (2007). Introduction. In R. Boon (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to David Hare (pp. 1-11). Cambridge University Press.
  • Casey, E. S. (1987). Remembering: A phenomenological study. Indiana University Press.
  • Davis, C. (2020, August 31). Getting into a sweet thanks to bungling leaders. The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/beat-the-devil-review-worked-up-into-a-sweat-by-our-bungling-leaders-xxxlz2tb9
  • Donesky, F. (1996). David Hare: Moral and historical perspectives. Greenwood Press.
  • Favorini, A. (2008). Memory in play: From Aeschylus to Sam Shepard. Macmillan.
  • Fraser, S. (1996). A politic theatre: The drama of David Hare. Rodopi.
  • Hare, D. (1993). Interview: David Hare. By Georg Gaston. Theatre Journal, 45(2), 213-225. https://doi.org/10.2307/3208924.
  • Hare, D. (2020a). Beat the devil: A covid monologue. Faber and Faber.
  • Hare, D. (2020b, December 26). My play made people realise they miss theatre – and need it. The Daily Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/sir-david-hare-play-made-people-realise-miss-theatre-need
  • Letts, Q. (2020, October 6). Signs of political fever. Sunday Times. https://research.ebsco.com/c/vzjnii/details/ev2et4tpwb?q=signs%20of%20political%20fever
  • Maitland, J. (2021). Censorship is still in the script. Index on Censorship, 50(4), 78-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306422021106870.
  • Megson, C., & Dan Rebellato. (2007). ‘Theatre and anti-Theatre’: David Hare and public speaking. In R. Boon (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to David Hare (pp. 236-249). Cambridge University Press.
  • Nicholson, S. (2007). ‘To ask how things might have been otherwise . . .’: History and memory in the work of David Hare. In R. Boon (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to David Hare (pp. 183-199). Cambridge University Press.
  • Ross, B. M. (1991). Remembering the personal past: Descriptions of autobiographical memory. Oxford University Press.
  • Zeifman, H. (1994). Introduction. In H. Zeifman (Ed.), David Hare: A casebook (pp. xi-xviii). Garland Press.

David Hare’s Memoir of Coronavirus and His Political Rage in Beat the Devil: A Covid Monologue

Year 2023, Volume: 17 Issue: 2, 183 - 193, 29.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1290670

Abstract

In Beat the Devil: A Covid Monologue (2020), David Hare gives a personal account of his illness period during the early stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, from the middle of March 2020 to the first week of April. In this monologue play, Hare deals with the decay of his body under the attack of the coronavirus and then dwells on his recovery process. On the one hand, this play appears to be a personal chronicle of the playwright’s experience with the Covid-19 virus. On the other hand, Hare’s narration of the news about the virus from the United Kingdom and the world serves to reveal national and collective memory of the crisis. As a playwright who frequently works on political realities and topical issues, Hare intermingles his personal memory and the collective record of the pandemic to censure the leaders incapable of coping with ambiguous circumstances. Thus, his memoir unveils not only Hare’s political commentary but also his political rage as his tone is tinged with anger and disappointment when it comes to the Conservative Party’s failure to protect people against the virus in the country. This paper intervenes in Hare’s monologue play, Beat the Devil, to investigate the playwright’s use of autobiographical and collective memory and evaluates Hare’s expression of political rage in his exploration of the coronavirus.

References

  • Akbar, A. (2020, August 30). Fiennes animates stage with Hare’s covid rage. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/aug/30/beat-the-devil-review-bridge-theatre-london-david-hare-ralph-fiennes
  • Bakare, L. (2021, May 8). Look back in awe: Hare invokes Osborne’s spirit to save today’s theatre. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/may/08/david-hare-covid-uk-theatre-john-osborne-revolution-blue-plaque-english-heritage-playwright
  • Ball, P. (2020). David Hare’s fiery account of Covid-19. The Lancet, 396(10255), 878-879. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31974-7.
  • Billington, M. (2007). State of the nation: British theatre since 1945. Faber and Faber.
  • Boon, R. (2003). About Hare: The playwright and the work. Faber and Faber.
  • Boon, R. (2007). Introduction. In R. Boon (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to David Hare (pp. 1-11). Cambridge University Press.
  • Casey, E. S. (1987). Remembering: A phenomenological study. Indiana University Press.
  • Davis, C. (2020, August 31). Getting into a sweet thanks to bungling leaders. The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/beat-the-devil-review-worked-up-into-a-sweat-by-our-bungling-leaders-xxxlz2tb9
  • Donesky, F. (1996). David Hare: Moral and historical perspectives. Greenwood Press.
  • Favorini, A. (2008). Memory in play: From Aeschylus to Sam Shepard. Macmillan.
  • Fraser, S. (1996). A politic theatre: The drama of David Hare. Rodopi.
  • Hare, D. (1993). Interview: David Hare. By Georg Gaston. Theatre Journal, 45(2), 213-225. https://doi.org/10.2307/3208924.
  • Hare, D. (2020a). Beat the devil: A covid monologue. Faber and Faber.
  • Hare, D. (2020b, December 26). My play made people realise they miss theatre – and need it. The Daily Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/sir-david-hare-play-made-people-realise-miss-theatre-need
  • Letts, Q. (2020, October 6). Signs of political fever. Sunday Times. https://research.ebsco.com/c/vzjnii/details/ev2et4tpwb?q=signs%20of%20political%20fever
  • Maitland, J. (2021). Censorship is still in the script. Index on Censorship, 50(4), 78-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306422021106870.
  • Megson, C., & Dan Rebellato. (2007). ‘Theatre and anti-Theatre’: David Hare and public speaking. In R. Boon (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to David Hare (pp. 236-249). Cambridge University Press.
  • Nicholson, S. (2007). ‘To ask how things might have been otherwise . . .’: History and memory in the work of David Hare. In R. Boon (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to David Hare (pp. 183-199). Cambridge University Press.
  • Ross, B. M. (1991). Remembering the personal past: Descriptions of autobiographical memory. Oxford University Press.
  • Zeifman, H. (1994). Introduction. In H. Zeifman (Ed.), David Hare: A casebook (pp. xi-xviii). Garland Press.
There are 20 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Literary Studies, Creative Arts and Writing
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Kübra Vural Özbey 0000-0001-8596-0809

Early Pub Date December 14, 2023
Publication Date December 29, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 17 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Vural Özbey, K. (2023). David Hare’s Memoir of Coronavirus and His Political Rage in Beat the Devil: A Covid Monologue. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 17(2), 183-193. https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1290670

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