In-yer-face theatre

In-yer-face theatre describes drama that emerged in Great Britain in the 1990s. This category coined by British theatre critic Aleks Sierz is the title of his book, "In-Yer-Face Theatre", first published by Faber and Faber in March 2001.Aleks Sierz, "In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today" (London: Faber and Faber, 2001).] An adjunct faculty member in Boston University's London graduate journalism program, and co-editor of TheatreVoice, [ [http://www.bu.edu/abroad/programs/england/london/london_gjp/aca.html Boston University International Programs: Academic faculty] including a brief biography of Aleks Sierz.] Sierz uses "in-yer-face theatre" to describe work by young playwrights who present vulgar, shocking, and confrontational material on stage as a means of involving and affecting their audiences. According to Sierz, "The big three of in-yer-face theatre are Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill and Anthony Neilson"; in listing 14 "Other hot shots" in "Who?" on his website, Sierz adds the following qualification: "Of course, some writers wrote one or two in-yer-face plays and then moved on. Like all categories, this one can't hope to completely grasp the ever-changing reality of the explosive new writing scene."Aleks Sierz, [http://www.inyerface-theatre.com/what.html "Who?"] , "In-Yer-Face Theatre" website, accessed June 9, 2008.]

Etymology of the phrase "in your face" ("in yer face")

According to the "Oxford English Dictionary", the "slang" term "in your face" originated in the United States in 1976; the 1989 edition and its updated editions provide examples of its usage in variant spellings such as "in yo' face" from 1976 through the 1990s:cquote
f. in your face slang (orig. U.S.), (a) as int. phr., an exclamation of scorn or derision; (b) as adj. phr. (freq. hyphenated) bold or aggressive; blatant, provocative, brash.
1976 C. ROSEN Mile Above Rim xv. 159 ‘Stuffed!’ shouted the taller boy. ‘Doobie got himself stuffed!.. In yo' face, Doobie!’ 1977 Washington Post 25 Feb. (Nexis) D1 Pipkin was the epitome of the ‘hot dog’, interested only in a personal, in-your-face confrontation with the defender of the moment. 1979 Verbatim Summer 6/2 The expression ‘Face!’ Apparently, it is an abbreviation of ‘In your face, Ace!’ 1990 MIZELL & BROWN Faces (song) in L. A. Stanley R
Definitions of "In your face", "Oxford English Dictionary Online", accessed June 9, 2008. (Library subscription-based search).]

Literary-cultural origins

Simon Gray employs the colloquial slang term "in your face" to describe contemporary theater dialogue in his play "Japes", which premiered in London, in early February 2001. [See Lizzie Loveridge, [http://www.curtainup.com/japes.html Review of "Japes"] , "CurtainUp", February 8, 2001.] In "Japes", Michael Cartts, a middle-aged author, rages against a new kind of writing that he describes as "in your face". After watching a new play by a young playwright, Cartts describes the stage characters as follows:

Appropriating the slang British spelling used by the band In Yer Face, extending the theatrical contexts exposed in Gray's play "Japes", and, as the "OED" observes, employing the more-frequently-hyphenated adjectival form, Sierz used "in yer face" in his category "in-yer-face theatre" as defined in his book of that title.

Process of critical categorizing

The process of appropriating and applying such a pre-existing phrase or concept to describe new theatrical works provides a critical means of "categorizing" or "labeling", and some critics have stated, "pigeonholing", or "domesticating" ("taming") them.Susan Hollis Merritt, "Pinter in Play: Critical Strategies and the Plays of Harold Pinter" (1990; Durham and London: Duke UP, 1995) 5, 9, 225–28, 326, citing Wardle.] The creation of "in-yer-face theatre" parallels the history of more-prevalently accepted literary-critical coinages by critics like Martin Esslin ("Theatre of the Absurd"), who extended the existential philosophical concept of the Absurd to drama and theatre in his 1961 book of that title,Martin Esslin, "The Theatre of the Absurd", 3rd ed. With a new foreword by the author (1961; New York: Vintage [Knopf] , 2004).] and Irving Wardle ("Comedy of menace"), who borrowed the phrase from the subtitle of "", by David Campton, in 1958 reviews of productions of Campton's play and of "The Birthday Party", by Harold Pinter, applying Campton's subtitle to Pinter's work.Irving Wardle, "The Birthday Party", "Encore" 5 (July–Aug. 1958): 39–40; rpt. in "The" Encore "Reader: A Chronicle of the New Drama", ed. Charles Marowitz, Tom Milne, and Owen Hale (London: Methuen, 1965) 76–78 (reissued as: "New Theatre Voices of the Fifties and Sixties" [London: Eyre Methuen, 1981] ); "Comedy of Menace", "Encore" 5 (Sept–Oct. 1958): 28–33; rpt. in "The Encore Reader" and "New Theatre Voices" 86–91.] Michael Billington, "Harold Pinter" (1996; London: Faber & Faber, 2007) 106.]

2002 Conference on "in-yer-face theatre"

"In-yer-face theatre" was debated at a two-day conference at the University of the West of England, held in 2002, at which Sierz was a key-note speaker. [ [http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/article.asp?item=258&year=2002 "News 2002:] 'Shocking' Plays have Academic Appeal," press release, University of the West of England, August 30, 2002.] Sierz's own report on the conference is archived on his website.Aleks Sierz, " [http://www.inyerface-theatre.com/archive2.html#e Archive 2: Conference Reports: University of the West of England 2002] ". "In-Yer-Face Theatre" website, "inyerface-theatre.com", accessed June 9, 2008.]

In summarizing the results of the conference, co-conveners Graham Saunders and Rebecca D'Monté observe that Sierz acknowledged that by 2002 "in-yer-face theatre" had already become an historical phenomenon (a trend of the past; hence, passé), going on to state:

Another conference report, published by "Writernet", states: "to be shackled to a specific era or genre places a responsibility on a play and creates expectations before a reading or performance. In essence, it disrupts the artistic integrity through preconceived notions of a play because of a simplified label. Plays and playwrights risk being annexed or 'ghetto-ised' when given a superficial monolithic focus." [http://www.writernet.co.uk/php2/news.php?id=324&item=164 "In-Yer-Face? British Drama in the 1990s"] , University of the West of England, Bristol, September 6 – September 7, 2002, "writernet.co.uk", ©Writernet 2003, accessed June 9, 2008. (Conference report posted on "writernet.co.uk", in both HTML and PDF versions).)]

"Writernet" adds: "This problem was reflected in number of papers from all over the world, which primarily explored the works of Sarah Kane and Mark Ravenhill through theoretical lenses of postmodernism, metaphysical theatre, Artaud's theatre of cruelty, and Lacan. Through no fault of the organizers – this was apparently an accurate reflection of the conference submissions."

Yet, this report observes also that, "In his own defense, Sierz stipulated that 'in-yer-face' was not a movement, but an 'arena' or 'a sensibility'," and that "In-yer-face theatre describes only a part of the body of works during the 1990s." It notices, moreover, that Sierz "accepted the limitations of his book and the label, acknowledging it as both London-centric and limited in its scope."

Nevertheless, it cites "Max Stafford-Clark (founder of Out of Joint and Joint Stock theatre companies and ex-artistic director of the Royal Court theatre and the Traverse in Edinburgh)," who, "when asked about plays in the 1990s," reportedly observed that "Everybody’s looking at the same view, so the paintings are bound to have similarities."Quoting from an interview with Elaine Aston, in "Caryl Churchill" (Plymouth: Northcote House Publishers, 1997) 5.]

Notable people associated with "in-yer-face theatre"

:Sources: Aleks SierzAleks Sierz, [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=179807 "Still In-Yer-Face? Towards a Critique and a Summation"] , "New Theatre Quart." 18.1 (2002): 17–24; published online by Cambridge University Press, "journals.cambridge.org", accessed June 9, 2008.] and David Eldridge.David Eldridge, [http://www.atypon-link.com/INT/doi/abs/10.1386/stap.23.1.55/0?journalCode=stap "In-Yer-face and After"] , "Intellect" 23.1 (Mar. 2003): 55–58. (Abstract.)]

* Kate AshfieldKate Ashfield originated the role of Lulu in "Shopping and Fucking", by Mark Ravenhill, in Max Stafford-Clark's September 1996 production of " [http://www.outofjoint.co.uk/prods/s_and_f.html Shopping and Fucking] ", at the Royal Court Theatre, as listed in the "Out of Joint production archive", accessed June 9, 2008.]
* Simon Block
* Jez Butterworth
* David Eldridge
* Nick Grosso
* Alex Jones [http://www.inyerface-theatre.com/az.html#j "Alex Jones"] , as listed by Aleks Sierz, "In-Yer-Face Theatre" website, accessed June 9, 2008.]
* Sarah Kane
* Tracy Letts
* Patrick Marber
* Martin McDonagh
* Phyllis Nagy
* Anthony Neilson
* Joe Penhall
* Rebecca Prichard
* Mark Ravenhill
* Philip Ridley
* Judy Upton
* Naomi Wallace
* Richard Zajdic

ee also

* Finborough Theatre
* Fringe theatre

Notes

Bibliography

*Dromgoole, Dominic. "The Full Room: An A-Z of Contemporary Playwriting". London: Methuen, 2002. ISBN 0-413-77134-2.
*Eldridge, David. [http://www.atypon-link.com/INT/doi/abs/10.1386/stap.23.1.55/0?journalCode=stap "In-Yer-face and After"] . "Intellect" 23.1 (Mar. 2003): 55–58. (Abstract.)
*Eyre, Richard and Nicholas Wright. "Changing Stages: A View of British Theatre in the Twentieth Century". London: Bloomsbury, 2001. ISBN 0-7475-5254-1.
*Gray, Simon. "Japes". London: Nick Hern Books, 2001. ISBN 1854594702.
* [http://www.writernet.co.uk/php2/news.php?id=324&item=164 "In-Yer-Face? British Drama in the 1990s"] . University of the West of England, Bristol. September 6 – September 7, 2002, "writernet.co.uk", ©Writernet 2003. Accessed June 9, 2008. (Conference report posted on "writernet.co.uk", in both HTML and PDF versions).)
* [http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/article.asp?item=258&year=2002 "News 2002] : Shocking Plays Have Academic Appeal." Press release. University of the West of England August 30, 2002. Accessed June 9, 2008.
*Saunders, Graham, and Rebecca D'Monté. [http://www.hero.ac.uk/uk/culture___sport/archives/2002/theatre_s_shock_therapy2243.cfm "Theatres Shock Therapy"] . School of English, University of the West of England (UWE). "HERO" (primary internet portal for academic research and higher education in the UK) September 2002. Accessed June 9, 2008. (Account of In-Yer-Face? British Drama in the 1990s, a two-day conference held at the St. Matthias Campus of the University of the West of England, in Bristol, England, on September 6 and September 7, 2002.)
*Sierz, Aleks. "In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today". London: Faber and Faber, 2001. ISBN 0-571-20049-4.
*–––. [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=179807 "Still In-Yer-Face? Towards a Critique and a Summation"] . "New Theatre Quart." 18.1 (2002): 17–24. Published online by Cambridge University Press, "journals.cambridge.org". Accessed June 9, 2008. (Abstract. Subscription required for full access.)

External links

* [http://www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/guided_tours/drama_tour/post_1945/face.php "'In Yer Face' Theatre"] – A "Drama Guided Tour" at "PeoplePlayUK: Drama History Online". Accessed May 1, 2008. [A feature of the official website for London's . "Discover More" menu provides production photographs of specific plays with more information about them.]
*" [http://www.inyerface-theatre.com/ In-Yer-Face Theatre] " – Website of Aleks Sierz ("Aleks Sierz's in-yer-face theatre website"). Accessed May 1, 2008. (Includes hyperlinked " [http://www.inyerface-theatre.com/archive2.html Archive 2: Conference Reports] ".)