On Political Theatre

Author(s): Michael Kirby

Source: The Drama Review: TDR, Vol. 19, No. 2, Political Theatre Issue (Jun., 1975), pp. 129-
135
Published by: The MIT Press
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 On Political Theatre

By Michael Kirby

Is all theatre political? Some people claim that it is. To some extent, this vi
based upon a misunderstanding of the word "political." Webster defines "polit
1. of or concerned with government, the state, or politics.
2. having a definite governmental organization.
3. engaged in or taking sides in politics; as political parties.
4. of or characteristic of political parties or politicians: as political pressure.

These definitions may help us to understand the nature of political theatre, but
not apply to all theatrical activity.
Some of the people who claim that all theatre is political seem to confuse "
cal," "social," and "economic." Of course, all theatre exists in a certain socio-ec
context. By definition, it involves an audience; it is not a solitary activity. But
not mean that it necessarily is concerned with government or that it must take
politics. The psychological elements and interpersonal relationships of, say, A St
Named Desire may be magnified into social statements. Blanche may become in s
one's mind the representative of a social class. But this does not give us a play
concerned with government." If The Lower Depths were a political indictment,
not have been performed under the Czarist government. Most plays make no po
statement.

Indeed, a basic functional independence of theatre and politics can be illustrated

certain indigenous performances that have remained unchanged for many years u
various political parties, systems, and orders. Although government and politics ma
useful to man as a social animal, they are not inevitable or always necessary. Many
activities - a couple making love, a card game among friends, a doctor performing an
operation, etc. - are not inherently related to politics. There is no reason why theatre
should be.
Webster's definitions of "political" stress active intent. Theatre is political if it is
concerned with the state or takes sides in politics. This allows us to define "political
theatre" in a way that distinguishes it from other kinds of theatre: it is a performance
that is intentionally concerned with government, that is intentionally engaged in or
consciously takes sides in politics. Although intentionality is a subjective state, there is
no problem in using it as a defining factor. Communication is, of course, imperfect. An
artist may not achieve all of his specific, subtle, and half-conscious goals, but his intent
is not apt to be misunderstood. If a theatre piece is intended to be political and the
intent is not perceived, there is no need to categorize it as "political theatre." Thus, if a
presentation does not attempt to be political, it is not political.
Of course, certain situations and certain governments may force all theatre to be
political. It can be an external rather than an internal decision. Censorship is a good

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130 MICHAEL KIRBY

example
exampleofof
this.
this.
By By
passing
passing
laws laws
about about
theatre,
theatre,
a government
a government
may createmay
a relationship
create a rela
between
betweenitself
itself
andand
all performance.
all performance.
But a performance
But a performance
is politicalis- political
it is "of" the
- it is "
government
government - only
- onlyas itasrelates
it relates
to such tolaws.
suchGenerally,
laws. Generally,
theatre is theatre
political only
is political
to the on
extent
extentthat that it it
attempts
attempts to betopolitical.
be political.
Most theatre
Most theatre
has no concern
has nofor concern
or interest
for in
or in
politics.
Political theatre is intellectual theatre. It deals with political ideas and concepts,
usually in an attempt to attack or support a particular political position. It is literary
theatre, not because it necessarily involves words and/or a script but because all produc-
tion elements are subservient to, support, and reinforce the symbolic meanings. Political
meaning is "read" by the spectator. (See "On Literary Theatre" in T62.)
Political theatre does not merely deal with government as a passive subject. It makes
explicit reference to contemporary governmental problems and issues. It is intellectually
dynamic. Thus, Oedipus and Hamlet are not political plays merely because their pro-
tagonists are sovereigns. Hypothetically, of course, any script can be given a political
production; on the other hand, a political script may lose its dynamic political quality
with the passing of time. An anti-war play like Sheriff's Journey's End was not political
- although it could be considered moralistic - when it was produced in New York in
the 1928-29 season.
Some people, however, are able to relate any performance to the government or th
state in their own minds. They interpret theatre politically. Such interpretation depe
upon the person doing the interpretation; it is not inherent in the work. Any belie
system - a religion, a social or psychological schema - may be projected onto a
presentation. For example, anything created by man can be interpreted according to
Freud's concepts as a revelation of the unconscious. Would it be helpful or useful, then,
if we referred to all drama as "psychoanalytical theatre"? In one of the most definitive
and, hopefully, seminal essays of our time, "Against Interpretation," Susan Sontag has
pointed out the limitations and dangers of this type of thought. Because something may
somehow and to some extent be interpreted as being political does not mean that it is
political. In the Rorschach tests even an inkblot formed by chance produces many
interpretations. Political concern and engagement must be in the work, not in the mind
of the observer.
As with any interpretive system, the political interpretation of performance depends
upon the political knowledge of the interpreter. But political knowledge is not theatre
knowledge. Many interpreters of theatre know a lot about their own area of intellectual
concern but little about performance. They relate everything they perceive to intel-
lectual standards and structures that exist entirely apart from theatre. If all theatre
ceased to exist, these political patterns of thought would be unchanged.
Italian Futurism has suffered greatly at the hands of those who interpret everything
politically. Its accomplishments in performance have been denegrated, rejected and
suppressed because certain of its members - including its leader, Marinetti - were
politically active in support of Fascism. But other Futurists had no political involvement.
Futurism was not a political movement. Very few of the plays contained explicitly
political statements or supported a particular political position.
To those who are intent on distorting art into politics, however, explicit political
intent is not necessary. Thus, it is claimed that it was the spirit of Italian Futurism that
was fascistic. Yet Italian Futurism spread almost immediately to Russia where it joined
forces with the proletarian revolution. The same Futurist spirit imbued artists who held
opposite political views.
The Futurists are also deprecated by some political thinkers because both they and
the Nazis were influenced by Nietzsche. Guilt-by-association is an old tool of political

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 ON POLITICAL THEATER 131

thought.
thought. OfOf course,
course,
an American
an American
- or a Chinese
- or a -Chinese
can reject-Italian
can reject
Fascism,
Italian
Russian
Fascism
Communism, and Nazism along with Nietzsche, but this is not theatrical thought or
analysis. The same artistic philosophy can relate to opposing political positions. On the
other hand, can anyone point out a form or style of theatre - any artistic element at all
- that can be used by only one political position or ideology?
One mental mechanism that the political interpreter uses to make all theatre politi-
cal is either/or thinking. A performance is either for a certain political position or it is
against it. Thus, all theatre apparently is forced to be political. As the slogan of the late
1960's said: "You are either part of the solution, or you are part of the problem." Of
course, this kind of thinking is simple-minded. It is similiar to "Have you stopped
beating your wife?" A logical formulation can produce its own answer. If one has to
think in either/or terms, it could be said that theatre is either political or it is not
political.
Some feel that all experimental and avant-garde theatre is political because it is
different than- and therefore opposed to - the traditional and accepted. Any theatre
that is radical artistically is considered to be radical politically. Since the government in
power is part of and supported by the status quo, any variation from the status quo is
seen as a threat to and an attack upon that government. When talking about his ideal
state in The Republic, Plato said:
This is the point to which, above all, the attention of our rulers should be
directed: that music and gymnastics be preserved in their original form and no
innovation be made ...any musical innovation is full of danger to the whole
State and ought to be prohibited... (because) when modes of music change, the
fundamental laws of the State always change with them.

Art does change the way people think, and new ways of thinking may eventually
cause changes in laws and government. But this does not justify calling all theatre
political. Political theatre is explicit in pointing out the institutions and aspects of
government that should change; it often describes and supports the exact nature of
these changes. Nobody knows how art, with its indirect causality, will change the world.
Nobody can predict its effects. If art causes change, it is not necessarily political change.
Let us take a specific example and see how political interpretation generally works.
Richard Foreman is presenting his Vertical Mobility (T62) in a loft in the SoHo district
of New York. The characters are not represented in a particular social environment and
there is no reference to or indication of political subject matter and intent. Of course,
the interpreter may claim that the play is opposed to his chosen political position since
it is not for it, but the same simplistic reasoning could be used by a socialist, a demo-
crat, or an anarchist.
Given no intellectual message to analyze, however, the political interpreter will not
get very far. Usually, he will not be interested in this type of performance. He will
ignore messageless theatre because it gives him little to work with according to his
system.
If forced to deal with abstract and non-referential works, the political interpreter
will turn his attention to the makeup of the company, to the audience, and to the
social context of the piece. He will find out, for example, that the actors are college
educated, that they earn little from their performance, and that the production is
supported by a grant. The spectators, the analyst will find, are entirely middle, upper-
middle, and upper class; some are artists, many are under 30, all are knowledgeable in
theatre. This special and identifiable audience can then be placed in the larger social
context. It can be compared to the society at large and recognized as a functional
sub-group.

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132 MICHAEL KIRBY

This
Thismuch
much is is
sociology.
sociology.
It is It
theissociology
the sociology
of theatreofbut
theatre
sociology
butnone
sociology
the less.none
As the
aa pure
purescientist,
scientist,the the
sociologist
sociologist
would would
stop at this
stoppoint.
at thisHe would
point.gather
He would
the facts,
gather the
analyze
analyzethem,
them, andand
organize
organize
them.them.
He would He not
would
say that
not the
sayfacts
thatarethegood
facts
or bad,
are right
good or
or
or wrong.
wrong. TheThe
political
political
interpreter
interpreter
goes further.
goes further.
He sets upHe political
sets upstandards
politicalwithin
standar
which
whichthethefacts
facts
maymaybe evaluated
be evaluated
and criticized.
and criticized.
He claims,Heof claims,
course, that
of course,
these stan-that th
dards
dardsare
areobjectively
objectively truetrue
and that
andthe thatpolitical
the political
values he values
deduces hefromdeduces
them are fromin- them
herent
herentininthethe
work.
work.
Thus,
Thus,
he might
he might
say thatsayForeman's
that Foreman's
Vertical Mobility
Verticalis politically
Mobility is
wrong
wrongbecause
because it does
it does
not cater
not cater
to the tomasses
the ofmasses
the proletariat
of the proletariat
(who are "good")(who andare "go
that,
that,being
being"aristocratic"
"aristocratic"
and "elitist"
and "elitist"
the performance
the performance
is evil. Thus,
is political
evil. Thus,
valuespolitical
and v
standards
standards have
have
been been
imposed
imposed
on theon work.
the They
work. sayThey
nothingsayabout
nothing
the presentation
about the asprese
theatre and as art.
This illustrates how a political view of theatre is intellectual. It does not deal with
theatre as a personal, sensory (as well as mental) experience. The real, individual exper-
ience of the performance does not matter in this approach. Personal sensations have no
social or political aspect. Like the sociologist (rather than the psychologist), the political
interpreter deals only with symbolic information and social data; unlike the sociologist,
he refers them for evaluation to a political system of thought. The experience of theatre
has been avoided for the sake of political intellectualization. This intellectualization has
its own emotional base, but it is imposed on the work rather than being intended by it.
The view that all theatre is political ignores a study of theatre in favor of a study of
politics. In criticism, then, a work becomes good or bad to the extent that it agrees with
or opposes the observer's own political position. It is impossible, for example, to have a
"good" play that supports the current administration. Political standards replace thea-
trical ones.
In theatrical terms, one content or message is not better or worse than another. The
theatre analyst is concerned with the way content - whatever that content might be -
relates to particular theatrical devices and techniques. He is concerned with the func-
tional relationships between style and expression, between performance and audience. It
is important to study and analyze political theatre not because of and in terms of its
politics but because it illustrates and illuminates particular theatrical dimensions.
Most political theatre, rather than merely posing political questions and problems,
attempts to change the beliefs and opinions of the spectator. Ultimately, it seeks politi-
cal action based upon these changes. In Notes of a Director, Alexander Tairov describes
what could be called an archetypal example of political theatre, an incident that crys-
talizes the deep ambitions of those who seek to use theatre for political ends:
In 1830, at the Theatre Monnaie in Brussels, the play La Muette was being
performed. In the middle of the performance, when the words "Love for the
Fatherland is holy" rang out on the stage, the revolutionary enthusiasm...was
communicated to the auditorium. The whole theatre was united in such power-
ful transport that all the spectators and actors left their places, grabbing chairs,
benches - everything that came to hand - and, bursting from the theatre,
rushed into the streets of Brussels. Thus, began the Belgian revolution.

On the other hand, the political realities of theatre often do not coincide with the
realities of everyday life. Enrique Buenaventura, the director of Colombia's Teatro
Experimental de Cali, has described in a mimeographed handout an incident that can be
seen to characterize political theatre in a way that is practical rather than archetypal:
There are groups in Colombia...who are, we say back home, very "accelerated."
They like to travel light. Some of these people put on a play in which they were
both soldiers and guerrillas. The guerrillas...had a discussion with the soldiers,

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 ON POLITICAL THEATER 133

they
theyconvinced
convinced the the
soldiers,
soldiers,
and the
and
soldiers
the soldiers
changed over
changed
to theover
side of
tothe
the side of the
guerrillas
guerrillas because
because
theythey
understood
understood
the problem.
the problem.
The play ended
The play
with everyone
ended with everyone
giving
givingthe
theclenched
clenched
fist fist
salutesalute
of solidarity.
of solidarity.
A few days
A after
few days
the show,
after
thethe
army
show, the army
occupied
occupied thethetheatre
theatre
and the
andSchool
the School
of Fine of
Arts
Fine
using
Arts
real using
rifles. During
real rifles.
the During the
occupation,
occupation, I went
I went
overover
to thetoactors
the actors
who hadwho
been had
in the
been
playinandthe
asked
play
them,
and asked them,
"Why
"Whydon't
don't youyou
go over
go over
to thetosoldiers
the soldiers
and speak
and
with
speak
them,with
and see
them,
if you
and
cansee if you can
convince
convince them?"
them?" AndAnd
theythey
didn'tdidn't
go because
go because
they knewthey
the soldiers
knew the would
soldiers
hit would hit
them over the head.

Thus, it is worthwhile to consider pragmatically the actual effectiveness of political

theatre - and, by inference, of all didactic theatre. To what extent is theatre able to
change beliefs and opinions? What are the obstacles to achieving these changes? What
are the factors that relate to the political effectiveness of theatre? Few conclusive
answers are available, but certain hypotheses may be presented.
One important consideration is the effectiveness of live theatre as compared to other
means of communication. Is it more or less effective than, say, television or film? In a
recent symposium at the American Place Theatre, John Houseman ascribed a "seminal
effect" to theatre. He apparently felt that, although the theatre audience was relatively
small, the impact of theatre as a medium was somehow greater and more powerful than
other media. He did not explain how this is true, however, and until there is data to
show that live performance actually is more compelling intellectually and more able to
change opinion and belief, we are able to say only that the experience of theatre is
different than that of other media. Arguing logically from these differences, one might
say that the actual presence of the actor increases the reality of the experience, making
it more potent. The "live" quality of a performance may be thought to give it more
political efficacy than the same performance would have on film.
On the other hand, television, film, and even radio can be seen to have a greater
power to make the unreal seem real. Thousands of people actually believed Orson
Welles' "War of The Worlds" broadcast and acted accordingly. It would be possible to
use staged news footage on television without anyone realizing that it was not, in fact,
real. Thus, live theatre tends to retain an "editorializing" dimension; the commentator
and the comments he makes almost always remain separate and distinct. When this is
true, political theatre may be seen as being more limited than other media in changing
opinion and belief. During the same American Place symposium, former Senator Eugene
McCarthy said that because of his appearance on television Walter Cronkite was the
"most trusted man in America." Theatre, on the other hand, is recognized - and
appreciated - for its "lies."
As suggested by the reference to Cronkite, the size of the audience - both in
absolute numbers and in the frequency with which an individual spectator is contacted
- may be seen as relevant to effectiveness. If success is measured in terms of the number
of people whose opinions or beliefs are changed, it might be assumed that a presentation
of any efficacy at all will have success directly proportional to the size of its audience.
Obviously, live theatre, because of the practical limitations of the medium, does not
reach as large an audience as does film and television. The Ford Foundation study The
Finances in The Performing Arts reports that "71 percent of the people [a sample of
6,000 in twelve major cities] saw a movie on television more than once a month, and 41
percent more than once a week, but hardly any people saw a live professional perfor-
mance of a play more than once a month." Nor do spectators tend to see the same live
performers over and over, as they are apt, for example, to do on television serials. This,
apparently, is one reason why Jerzy Grotowski has opened rehearsals to the public;
because they present relatively few works, even a regional or community theatre does

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134 MICHAEL KIRBY

not have the same kind of "following" as, say

the believeability of the commentator/actor r
Of course, absolute numbers and frequency of contact are not the only audience
factors related to effectiveness. The composition of the audience that is reached is also
important. If one wishes to change someone's beliefs and opinions, it is necessary to
contact those who do not already agree. No change will take place if political theatre is
performed only for spectators who think the same as the writer/director/performers.
This is one of the major problems that has faced political theatre: how to find or
attract the audience that can be converted. It is the basis for guerrilla theatre, which
takes its performances to audiences that never planned to see the particular play but
find it thrust upon them in one way or another, and it explains why many political
theatre groups depend upon humor to a great extent.
Once the proper audience - the audience that does not already agree - has been
found, the second problem arises: making the spectators listen to and accept what is
said. Intellectual resistance may be encountered. There is a natural tendency for a
spectator to react against anything that does not conform with his existing beliefs.
This is not merely a question of antagonism. It is true that certain political groups in
the United States in the late 1960's actually antagonized their audiences in the belief
that they could, in this way, persuade them. But when passers-by were splashed with
"blood" by a guerrilla theatre troupe performing an anti-war skit in the street, they
tended to get angry rather than become enlightened. The belligerent and self-concerned
attitude of the Living Theatre in Paradise Now offended and alienated many who were
sympathetic to the intellectual aims of the group. When a theatre tells its audience "I
am right; you are wrong" most spectators will intellectually support and elaborate their
own position. An attack causes not surrender, but defense. If this psychological gener-
ality is true, it brings into the question the efficacy of much political theatre.
The goal of most political theatre is to reach an audience of the masses, an audience
of working people, an audience of the common man. Since the theatre person does not
see himself as belonging to this class - and, indeed, most political theatre has been
produced by educated people from the middle class and above - and since the masses
are conceived as uneducated, perhaps quasi-literate, and of low intelligence, many politi-
cal plays intentionally use childish, crude, or simple techniques and thought. This
creates an "us vs. them" feeling that does not exist in most theatre. It also can seem
condescending. It is possible, however, for a spectator to identify with the intelligent
"us" rather than the unintelligent "them" and to gain a sense of superiority.
A similiar mechanism is behind a much wider spectrum of theatre. All theatre that
attempts to send a message to the masses- not merely political theatre but the theatre
of moral uplift and the Great American Play - functions on the same us/them basis.
Those who write the play, or perhaps merely those who back it and approve it, think
that they know what is right and wrong with the country and what it is the country
should think and believe. The great play they seek is the one that tells the masses what
they themselves, the seekers, already know. Most of these people probably wonder why
we do not have a Great American Play and mourn the state of our theatre.
Joseph Papp is one of those who think in terms of "meaningful" plays: "Ones that
address themselves to the major psychological problems of our time." Of course, it is
Papp who knows what is meaningful, to whom it should be meaningful, and what our
important problems are. Emphasis on this theatre-as-education given by an informed or
enlightened teacher to an uninformed or unenlightened public can be traced back at
least to Horace. It is one of the main supports of political theatre.
Changing beliefs and opinions of a spectator can be done in many different ways,
ranging from the most overt and explicit to the most covert and hidden. It would be

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 ON POLITICAL THEATER 135

possible to place any political production at some point along this theoretical con-
tinuum depending on the means and techniques that it employed. At one end would be
pieces that involved direct argumentation and aggressive propaganda; at the other would
be pieces that sought to achieve an attitude change through what could be called
seduction.
The extent to which any of these means is effective is debatable. There is the story,
perhaps apocryphal, of the general who attended Oh, What A Lovely War, Joan Little-
wood's anti-war - and anti-military - production. He thought it was wonderful and said
he enjoyed it more than any play he had ever seen. Years before, Rousseau had ex-
plained the psychology behind such incidents. In Politics and the Arts, he wrote:
In the quarrels at which we are purely spectators, we immediately take the side
of justice, and there is no act of viciousness which does not give us a lively
sentiment of indignation so long as we receive no profit from it. But when our
interest is involved, our sentiments are soon corrupted. And it is only then that
we prefer the evil which is useful to us to the good that nature makes us love.

Certainly political theatre has to be judged ineffective when compared with the
political actions of everyday life. Terrorism is often a very effective means of achieving
very practical goals. It is used to call attention to a particular cause, to raise large
amounts of money very quickly, to force the release of prisoners, and so forth. In
comparison, theatre is relatively or completely inefficient. Traditional political means
are also more effective than theatre. If this were not so, we would have fewer speeches
by politicians in this country, and the political parties would be supporting extensive
theatrical activity.
If political theatre, when compared to other political means, is seen as relatively
inefficient, there are certain pragmatic indicators that would suggest the same conclu-
sion. In retrospect, the great surge of anti-Vietnam-war theatre can be seen as a small
part of the general political activism of the period. Like the activism, its rather sudden
decline took place long before the withdrawal of American troups from Vietnam. It
reached its peak at the time of the shooting at Kent State in May 1970, and by the time
the bombing raids on North Vietnam were intensified in 1972, political theatre activity
was almost non-existent. It was a fashion, so to speak. Apparently the practitioners of
political theatre found it to be useless. Most did not give up theatre, they merely gave
up theatre that dealt explicitly with current issues. Such issues still exist, but almost all
political theatre in the United States prefers to deal with general, theoretical questions
where the success or failure in changing a spectator's beliefs and opinions is not appar-
ent.

It would be wrong, however, to consider the effectiveness of political theatre only in

terms of changing the beliefs and opinions of the spectators. Some political theatre does
not do this. It merely raises certain issues, explores certain problems, asks certain
questions. It does not proselytize, it is not didactic, it does not support particular
alternatives.

Nor is the changing of beliefs and opinions the only possible practical result of
political theatre. If, especially when compared with other political tools, theatre can be
seen to have little power to change a spectator's position, its impact can still be signifi-
cant. It can give emotional and intellectual support to those who already agree with its
position. Just as a marching band helps to stir the soldier's patriotism, courage, and
fighting spirit, political theatre can be the rallying point for the believers in a particular
cause. It can give them the feeling that they are not alone in their beliefs, that others are
actively involved and pursuing the same goals. Thus, it can be an important force in
political change.

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