Catastrophe Survived? The Failure of the Tragic in Moira Buffini'sWelcome to Thebes
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: In Moira Buffini's Welcome to Thebes (2010) Antigone fails to reach her tragic destiny, the city of Thebes fails to become an autonomous democratic state, and the audience fails to witness the splendour of the ancient heroine. In this paper I consider these three failures as interrelated and dependent upon one another, arguing, along psychoanalytic lines, that they register changing attitudes towards knowledge and the Other which ultimately determine the meaning of ‘failure’. However, in order to better appreciate the contemporary scope of failure, I draw on both Lacan and Baudrillard, highlighting convergences between the two theorists. In particular, I argue that Lacan's notion of the inconsistent Other can be supplemented by Baudrillard's notion of the impossible exchange. Further, the relevance of these notions for theatre and spectatorship is discussed in detail, as they both invite spectators to reflect on their own involvement in the scene they witness and the ontological conditions of (their own) absence and presence. Failure to do so possibly indicates an irreparable loss of the critical capacity which we have always considered central to radical thought.
Source: Somatechnics
Author: Angie Voela
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2086763172