Brechtian Dramatic Strategies in the plays "Cloud Nine" and "Top Girls" by Caryl Churchill. Estrangement in Betty in "Cloud Nine" and Marlene in "Top Girls"

Authors

Keywords:

Caryl Churchill, feminist theatre, Top Girls, Cloud Nine, Bertold Brecht, estrangement

Abstract

This article focuses on analysing the plays Cloud Nine (1979) and Top Girls (1982) and contrasts them with Bertolt Brecht’s estrangement theory.

One of the aims of this article is to study both plays and describe in detail the playwright’s use of estrangement devices in order to illustrate gender inequalities. This is why firstly the use of estrangement in feminist theatre and some of the motives for the conjunction between feminist theatre and estrangement will be reviewed superficially.

A second phase will set out the estrangement devices applied to two female characters in the plays. The characters are Betty in Cloud Nine and Marlene in Top Girls. Churchill uses role reversal in both women as an estrangement device. Later it will seek to elucidate the suitability of the use of Brechtian devices in the two plays by Caryl Churchill by comparing them and the Brechtian elements in the aforementioned female characters. Finally, the comparison will show the evolution in the use of devices and their adaptation and development in the different periods of the playwright, whereby Churchill’s plays align with the idea formulated by Bertolt Brecht that affirms that each audience requires its own theatrical form and that led him to elucidate his epic theatre in opposition to Aristotelian dramatic theatre.

Author Biography

Silvana Pérez Meix

Silvana Pérez Meix holds a bachelor’s degree in Playwriting and Directing from the Real Escuela de Arte Dramático de Madrid and a master’s degree in Theatre Studies from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Institut del Teatre. She combines her work as theatre director and playwright in the company Poka yoke Teatro with playwriting. She has published plays such as MADJFK- MAD (Revista Teatro mínimo, Ed. RESAD), Melisa, una comedia triste (Ed. Fundamentos), La Maraña, drama paranormal (Ed. Fundamentos) and Asat en el jardín de las mujeres (Metec Alegre Edizioni).

References

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Published

30-01-2019

Issue

Section

Dossier