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MY ANALYSIS OF DES: LOOKING AT EXAMPLES FROM BOND PLAYS
they do not leave space for the audiences meaning-making, and if the brick
loses its material nature then that will cause problems when it is used as
a lethal weapon and is de-cathexed in the next moment.
Concentrating on how to use the objects and having the reference point of
the Centre is useful for the actors in stepping away from other widely used
acting methods. Often an actor in Hungary would build the past of the role
and rely on emotional history to portray a character, and find answers in the
role’s invented past for why she does some action in the play. For example,
in the first rehearsal the actor playing the Man overacted the emotions he
sensed behind the situation. When we understood more about what was
happening there we started working towards a very simple presence, that
Bond calls Enactment. This does not mean that emotions are absent from
the characters, but it demands a very accurate breaking down of the situation
and the actions. Enactment requires that the actor is present and creating and
concentrating on the situation rather than the character. This way of working
allows the contradictions within the role to be more apparent as the tendency
with both character and emotional acting is that they explain the action of
the role rather than make them contradictory.
In this case, for example, it would be easier to act that the Man becomes
really angry because he is reminded of his son’s death and that is why he kills
Donna, but the text suggests something else: “(Hums a few notes.) My son my
son... (Stops.) Time!”.*?° Then he suddenly twists to the side and kills. The text
implies that the Man stops himself in being upset and almost completes
the killing as a duty — the word ‘time’ refers to this. The text would lend itself
to many other explanations, but as we had a reference point in the collectively
chosen Centre, it was clear that this interpretation should be chosen as it
highlighted the contradictions of responsibility within the Man. The struggle
of a human approach towards the children and the responsibility he thinks he
has towards his dead son, that he completes as a duty becomes more visible in
performance through enacting this moment in such a manner.
The sound ‘hgn’ after the killing can also become explanatory rather than
contradictory. It could be acted as a beastly sound, showing how inhuman
the Man has become. But the contradiction linked to the Centre is highlighted
much more if the clue from the text is used. The Man says that his sickness has
become worse, he “shan’t survive”.*?” The sound can refer to him completing
the killings out of his last strength, as if he just stayed alive to complete his
duty. The visceral effect of the sound can still be present, and it is contrasted
also to the humming before.
486 Ibid.
#7 Ibid.