Seite 92 [92]
FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE BONDIAN ÁPPROACH
Bond relates to the spectator ina very different way. He claims that “for actors
to create drama and audience to perceive it, both require the same creativity”,*”
a point of connection with Ranciére. Bond states that the ultimate site of
drama is the audience’s imagination.% The extreme situation on the stage
that poses as unresolvable problem is not only faced by the actors, but the
audience as well. Each and every member of the audience needs to make sense
of the paradox and re-describe her relation to the situation and the actions on
the stage. This re-evaluation of their stance in relation to the fictional events
impacts on their understanding of their position and in this sense drama,
according to Bond, can enhance the process of self-formation.%** Bond insists
that the story should not present a moral and neither should the actors
present their relation to the character. He explains the difference between
his theory and that of Brecht in the following quote.
Brecht would say to the audience, and so necessarily to the characters, “dont [sic]
do this” — I try to show why “people do the this that they shouldnt” [sic] because
this releases the compulsion, conviction or reason to do this, so that we can then
show not just the motive but what causes the motive: why people do this — its
[sic] because of the situation. So its [sic] necessary to change the situation — and
this means (the opposite of Brecht) putting the audience exactly in the place
— the subjectivity, even — of the characters so that they can see they dont [sic] have
to do this because they can then see they are in the wrong situation.**"
Bond argues that the audience should not be alienated, but should be allowed
to engage in the dramatic situation, they should be drawn into it so they
can imagine being in that fictional setting. He claims that without being
involved in this way they cannot understand the situation and the actions of
the characters. This way the audience can reason about motives and causes
imaginatively, and they can respond individually and creatively to the ‘human
paradox’ presented on stage.
Davis explains the difference between Brecht’s approach and Bond’s as
the following:
With Brecht the audience stays outside the situation, in a relationship to the events
where they have, or rather are manipulated into having, the moral high ground,
‘thinking above the stream’. In Bond’s plays ‘The audience are shown their site by
347 Edward Bond: Modern Drama, in The Hidden Plot, London, Methuen, 2000, 10.
348 Ihid.
39 Bond: A short and troubled essay, 9.
350 Edward Bond: Email to Adam Bethlenfalvy, Personal communication, 22 November, 2012.
Bond does not use apostrophes in many of his letters, this is why they are missing from this
quote as well.
S
35.
a
+9] e