Witnessing Trauma in Simon Stephens’ Motortown
Abstract
Simon Stephens is one of the most
important contemporary playwrights whose popularity spreads out both Britain
and continental Europe. His Motortown
(2006) consists of eight scenes. Having structural order and correlations with
each other, these scenes depict notions of fear, violence, anxiety and
traumatic experiences. The play’s protagonist, Danny, is a British soldier who
is sent to Iraq for his military service and comes back home with his traumatic
memories. Simon Stephens portrays a political play which discloses the
tormenting process of Danny’s unsuccessful treatment back home. Stephens also
depicts traumatic patterns and major trauma factors observed as the lack of
family support and psychological disorders of contemporary British society,
which are the disappointing results of war in Iraq. Applying the trauma theory
and taking into consideration the effects of war, this study will illustrate
Danny’s personal background and his traumatic experiences which become central
among other characters in contemporary British culture.
Keywords
References
- Ansdel, Caroline (2006). “Musings on Mays and Motortown” In Whats On Stage. http://www.whatsonstage.com/dl/page.php?page=greenroom&story=E8821145961557. [Accessed 18 January 2018].
- Avishai, Margalit (2004). The Ethics of Memory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Buse, Peter (2001). Drama+Theory Critical Approaches to Modern British Drama. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
- Caruth, Cathy (1996). Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative and History. Baltimore, MA and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Edkins, Jenny (2003). Trauma and Memory of Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Freud, Sigmund (1961). Beyond the Pleasure Principle. New York: W.W. Norton.
- Gardner, Lyn (2006). “Review of Motortown, Royal Court London Stage” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2006/apr/25/theatre. [Accessed 6 February 2018]
- Herman, L.Judith (1992). Trauma and recovery. New York: Basic Books.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
-
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Publication Date
December 24, 2018
Submission Date
March 17, 2018
Acceptance Date
June 26, 2018
Published in Issue
Year 2018 Number: 40