Following are two one-act plays in the non-realistic tradition of modern theatre with a critical introduction about this tradition since Strindberg. It is first seen that non-realism is extremely difficult to define--theatrical performance always involves some non-realistic elements. It is found that generally those plays which emphasize some element of drama other than character (e.g. song or dance) may be termed non-realistic. The tradition is then traced through Strindberg, Yeats, Eliot, Ionesco, Sartre, Genet, and Beckett, The dissolution of character before other elements of the drama is observed in Strindberg’s Miss Julie.The poetic drama of Eliot, and more especially of Yeats, is shown to emphasize language (Aristotle’s category of diction), at the expense of normal character development and interaction. Huis Clos, Sartre's tour de force, illustrates the impossibility of a rigid classification of plays into the categories of realistic and non-realistic, for, though Sartre has created a purely hypothetical world, or hell, his characters behave and act upon one another in a thoroughly believable and consistently motivated manner. Ionesco's characters are shown to cancel their own existence by their absurd behavior in an insolite world where anything can happen. Again language, or the attack upon language (and through language-thought) is shown to be the primary element in this non-realistic theatre. Genet's characters are merely reflections of social roles. They behave, not as individuals, but as socio-economic types in a world of abstractions. Le Balcon, especially the first four scenes, is seen to rely more on stage activity (gesture and visual factors) than on character to convey dramatic action. The characters of Samuel Beckett are not whole characters; they are merely parts of characters. In both Waiting for Godot and Endgame one character is primarily emotional; the other intellectual. Only together can they form a whole character. Beckett's plays are concerned with revealing a state of being, not with portraying an event. In order to do this, they rely primarily on thought (conveyed through rhythmical diction) rather than character—the most necessary element in a strong plot. Happy Days follows the same lines as the two earlier plays, but here language itself has become the object of examination, as in the Ionesco plays. Finally, our conception of non-realistic drama having been clarified, and our acquaintance with its tradition renewed, we can see how the author's two plays, Where the Hell is She? and The Fabulous Fountain of Youth, function and how they fit into the non-realistic tradition of modern theatre. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Thèse--Stockholm, 2005. / Bibliogr. p. 181-195.

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The following thesis is an examination into August Strindberg's mode of dramatic expression following his so-called "naturalistic" phase. This study will focus on Strindberg's means of expressing his subjective vision of the world around him as it is developed in one of his last plays, The Ghost Sonata,(1907). First, we will view the failure of naturalism as it applies to Strindberg's dramatic objectives; for naturalism as prescribed by Zola proved to be a too restrictive form of poetic expression, limiting the artist to the presentation of objectively verifiable external realism. Strindberg sought to explore the reality of the internal world, or life as it affects the very soul of the dramatist. This he accomplished through the creation of the dramatic dream form where visions and hallucinations merge with past and present objective events into a world of psychological reality. The form and techniques for creating such hallucinatory visions of reality are not new, but a fusion of these into a single dramatic work has been of seminal influence in 20th century drama. Second, we will turn to Strindberg's creative process which bears a remarkable similarity to Freud's explication of the nature of the "dream-work" in Traumdeutung. Furthermore, the dream form of The Ghost Sonata employs the various techniques that comprise the various stages of the dream-work. But these techniques are parallel to certain literary developments of which Strindberg was aware and consequently on which he molded his work. This becomes the basis for the third area of examination which covers the naturalistic, symbolistic and surrealistic techniques as they are applied to the structure of The Ghost Sonata. The conclusion of this examination demonstrates Strindberg's perfect fusion of these previously established literary techniques into the dream-form. Even though none of the separate entities can be attributed to Strindberg’s creative innovations; the use, adaption, expansion and fusion of these techniques into the dream-form serve admirably as a projection of the artist's personal vision of life into dramatic form. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species, inciting debate surrounding the validity of the Christian creation narrative. Prior to this, the Adam and Eve creation narrative was the central narrative around which Christian families modelled their own family structures – with the father as the head of the household. In this thesis I discuss the effect that Darwin’s publication had on the restructuring of families in the nineteenth century. I do this through analysis of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts and August Strindberg’s Easter, two domestic dramas that chronicle the effect of a society redesigning their religious philosophies owning to the toppling of the patriarchal structures of authority. I argue that Ibsen and Strindberg stand in polar relation to one another in terms of the debate surrounding the religiosity of the family and the position of the (F)ather within this framework (borrowing from Ross Shideler’s term conflating the notion of the divine Father and the earthly father). Relating the debate to the contemporary Afrikaner culture, the research aims to create a family drama (...van ons vaders) that addresses the decline of Afrikaner Calvinistic religious constructs in a similar manner to that of Ibsen and Strindberg, but in through a contemporary aesthetic approach. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gedurende die negentiende eeu is debat ontlok rondom die geldigheid van die Christelike skeppingsverhaal wanweë die publikasie van Charles Darwin se The Origin of Species. Voor dit, is die Adam-en-Eva verhaal die sentrale narratief waarvolgens Christelike families hulself gestruktureer het – met die vader as die hoof van die huishouding. In hierdie tesis bespreek ek die effek wat Darwin se publikasie gehad het op die herstrukturering van families gedurende die negentiende eeu. Ek doen dit aan die hand van Henrik Ibsen se Ghosts en August Strindberg se Easter – twee familiedramas wat sentraal in die debat staan rondom die herontwerp van geloofsfilosifieë en omvorming van patriargale gesagstrukture. Ek argumenteer dat Ibsen en Strindberg in polêre verhouding met mekaar staan in terme van die debat rondom die godsdienstigheid van die familie en die posisie van die (V)ader binne hierdie raamwerk. Hier leen ek Ross Shideler se term wat die idee van die goddelike Vader en die aardse vader saamsmelt. Dit word later in verband gebring met die kontemporêre Afrikaner kultuur om ten einde ‘n nuwe familiedrama (…van ons vaders) te skep, wat fokus op die hedendaagse hervorming van Afrikaner Calvinistiese geloofstrukture, in ‘n wyse soortgelyk aan dié van Ibsen en Strindberg, maar deur om gebruik te maak van ‘n kontemporêre estetiese benadering.

The dramatic structure is like the skeleton that holds together the components and gives birth to the orchestration of the performance.This structure is essential to give the performance life.As a director in theatre it is our main tool. In defining the performance we define the dramaturgy. But what does the dramaturgy consist of and how do we get a hold of a tool, which is so driven by our intuition and how do we change it during the process? In this thesis work I will focus on how to use the dramatic principles in different works from interpretation to adaptation. I will explore how these principles function in each process and how they support the dramaturgy towards the creation of the performance.

La presente investigación aborda cómo el dramaturgo sueco August Strindberg intentó modificar la tragedia en su célebre obra La señorita Julia, a través de cambiar aspectos claves en ella como el héroe trágico que busca su felicidad, la unidad de acción y los diálogos al servicio de esta. En este camino el dramaturgo fue más allá, y, sin proponérselo, logró un nuevo tipo de escritura teatral denominado drama moderno. A partir del contraste con la idea de tragedia propia del tiempo del dramaturgo, de la oposición con la forma del drama burgués de la época, y de diversos estudios científicos del momento, la tesis ofrece un análisis exhaustivo del texto dramático en el cual encuentra que el autor propone a un complejo personaje con rasgos de impersonaje, un diálogo irregular intrasubjetivo que recurre al monólogo y una sutil presencia del autor en el texto. De este modo, la tesis sostiene que La señorita Julia propone un nuevo tipo de dramaturgia caracterizada por la suspensión de la acción dramática y la presencia de lo íntimo.