"Iam Nocte" an adaptation of Seneca's "Oedipus"

'The Oedipus Project' was performed in December 2009, and that production was a work in progress leading up to 'Iam Nocte', which was performed on December 9 - 10, 2010. 'Iam Nocte', which loosely translated to ‘now darkness is driven off’, is the first two words of the Latin version of Seneca's 'Oedipus'. Originally written in the 1st Century AD, Seneca's 'Oedipus', known to be more violent and graphically detailed than Sophocles' version was not intended to be performed; the play was to be recited.


The fact that it was a well-known story was one of the reasons it was chosen. The other reason was its themes of light and darkness, sight and blindness; appropriate elements in order to explore the antithesis; the highs, lows and dichotomies of the body and voice. The narrative was not an important factor, the essence of the story, the imagery and the characters emotional journeys were to be highlighted.


Before looking at Voice Theatre Lab's performance outline, here is a synopsis of Seneca's version.

Act 1

Oedipus is fearful, a plague has struck Thebes and people are dying all around. People are dying too fast to ensure that they have proper burials. He talks about a prophecy he has heard from the Oracle of Apollo that he would kill his father and marry his mother, and that is why he fled the kingdom of his father, Polybus. Oedipus considers going back to his home city, but Jocasta urges him to stay.

Act 2

Creon returns from the Oracle. Creon says that for the plague to end, Thebes must avenge the death of the former king, Laius. The prophet Tiresias appears and Oedipus asks him more clarity regarding the Oracles prophecy. Tiresias then conducts a horrific sacrifice. He summons up Laius’s spirit from Erebus to name his killer.

Act 3

Creon returns from witnessing the sacrifice and Laius’s spirit, but does not reveal to Oedipus who the killer is. Oedipus threatens Creon, and Creon says that Laius accuses the king of having blood on his hands, and that the plague will end if the king is expelled from Thebes. Creon advises that Oedipus should abdicate the throne, but Oedipus thinks that this is a plot, along with Tiresias, in order to snatch the throne. Oedipus has Creon arrested.

Act 4

Oedipus is troubled by an event that happened long ago, a moment in time when he killed an arrogant man on a road while coming to Thebes. An old messenger from Corinth approaches to tell Oedipus that his father, Polybus has died and asks if he would return and take the throne. Oedipus wants to stay as he fears his prophecy: that he will marry his mother. The messenger tells him that the Queen of Corinth is not his mother, and that he was given Oedipus as a baby on Mount Cithaeron. Oedipus realizes that he is in fact Jocasta’s son.

Act 5

A messenger appears and says that Oedipus has considered suicide by throwing himself to wild beasts, but then he felt that his crime deserved something worse than the suffering Thebes has endured. The messenger explains how Oedipus tore his eyes out with his hands. Oedipus appears with both eyes removed and is confronted by Jocasta.  Jocasta takes his sward and kills herself on stage. 

Here is Voice Theatre Lab's performance outline. This outline is being updated weekly as it is still in the rehearsal stages. 

'Iam Nocte' Performance Outline

Prologue: Icarus

This scene depicts the entire premise of the play: if one reaches beyond their capacity, they face danger. This is the case with Icarus. Oedipus and Jocasta stand facing each other on blocks connecting through simple, slow gestures. Icarus is in the middle of the performance space and on either side of him are The Plague/Chorus who cross each other and while they do so, trample on Icarus as he attempts to reach his goal. The Plague speak ‘Occidis, Cadmi generosa proles…’ which loosely translates to ‘The noble race of Cadmus is falling…’. A sign of terror and impending doom. As they cross each other, they ‘swipe’ their bodies and faces, almost warping their physical selves representing a thick mist of smoke, liquid or plasma colliding and morphing to each other as they pass. The Plague or Chorus therefore do not represent people as such, they represent an entity which control people and their surrounds. Eventually, Icarus is crushed down to reveal Oedipus.

Scene 1: The Rise (and fall) of Oedipus

Icarus, on the floor, crawls upstage right to transform into Laius. Jocasta comes down her block and is situated diagonally opposite Laius. Lauis and Jocasta cross paths with Oedipus in the middle. The Plague/Chorus are facing each other at the opposite ends of the space, two containing the mask and sound of fear, while the other two, the mask of anger. These two emotions are external expressions of Oedipus’ internal feelings towards what’s to come. As Oedipus speaks ‘Iam nocte…’, his voice reacts to Laius’ physical imagery, while his body reacts to Jocstas’ physical imagery behind him. Both parents imagine their bodies slowly being eaten by flesh eating ants. The parents freeze as The Plague/Chorus cross paths again (while swiping bodies and faces), while trying to physically knock Oedipus down. It worked for Icarus, now they try it with Oedipus. Oedipus resists – a sign of his stubbornness. The Plague eventually win, Laius notices this opportunity, and pierces Oedipus’ ankles with an iron rod and Phorbas says ‘Forata ferro gessaras vestigal…’ which loosely translates to ‘Iron pins pierce your feet to cripple you.’ After his ankles are pierced, he finally becomes ‘Oedipus’, so he is raised by the Plague to his mask that hangs from the ceiling. He is still out of reach from the mask. He is brought to his feet, facing Jocasta.

Scene 2: Jocasta's Plea

Jocasta pleads to Oedipus not to dig in the past and dwell in negativity. ‘Leave the past behind you’ she pleads. Yet again, The Plague controls the situation. The plague determine the quality of the sound by acting as an invisible string, their energies affecting the sounds of Oedipus and Jocasta’s voices. The two Plagues who control Oedipus and Jocasta are in turn being controlled by two other Plagues who are not present in the immediate action. This is a representation of the fact that we are not solely in control of our situations – there is a higher power controlling all. This represents a continuum of control and power.  

Scene 3: Oracle

Oedipus, unsure, seeks counsel from the Oracle of Apollo. The Oracle, though only voice and symbolic gestures, does not tell him the identity of his true parents but tells him that his destiny is to marry his mother and kill his father. Throughout this small scene, the others retreat towards the end of the performance space and create a chariot, and in the middle stands Laius. 

Scene 4: Crossroads

The four other members create a star pattern on the floor: two are in front of Laius facing forwards and the other two are behind him facing away. When the Plague/Chorus (who is not part of the chariot) says ‘one path, the second, the third...’ these bodies that constitute the chariot flip forward facing Laius. Oedipus slays Laius and is trampled by the chariot signified by a Pretzel. 

Scene 5: The Sphinx

Oedipus, after he has been told by Jocasta to leave the past behind him, retreats back to his ‘throne’. He is compelled to go back and fight the Sphinx. He turns to see the Sphinx – a conglomerate of bodies, possibly the remains of her victims (whoever she eats, becomes part of her). There is both a pull and push to the Sphinx, a resistance, yet compelled to defeat it. The Sphinx screams uncontrollably while the other parts of her ask the riddle (‘Voices…four…two…three…voices…etc’). Then there is a containment of energy within Oedipus, then an anticipation to confront her, then the action of forcing his energy to ‘break’ her apart. The Sphinx’s head stays intact and becomes its own entity, but the other parts of her become kittens who play in the background. The Sphinx plays with Oedipus, leading him around the space (teasing him), and throws him to the kittens to play. Eventually, the kittens consume him, lift him up to take him to the Sphinx herself for the final consumption. The Sphinx lifts him up and begins to be consumed by the other parts of the Sphinx. As he is being eaten, he solves the riddle, which ‘explodes’ the Sphinx completely.

A sketch of the Sphinx:

Scene 6: Plague

This scene is divided into two sections: The Plague and the Madmen, and The Citizens. 

The Plague and the Madmen

A plague of infertility strikes the city of Thebes. This is the calm before the storm. Madmen form a diamond around Oedipus who is still in the pose when he killed the Sphinx. The Madmen turn to face Oedipus, stand in neutral, and begin to walk slowly increasing their personal ‘plague image’ from 0% – 100% on body and voice (no words, just sound), reaching the other end of the space on 100% intensity. In the middle, they ‘swipe’ and trample over Oedipus. His text and body is affected by the physical swipe of the Madmen. The cross the space two more times, the going faster and all speaking their respective Latin text, and the last time like a very fast storm – speeding past – on text again Oedipus translates the Latin text (spoken by the Madmen) into English:

‘The noble race of Cadmus is falling

The entire city has fallen…’

The Madmen are drawn to form a diamond upon Head Plagues command and begin flocking only using Vocal Landscape – breaths, inward breaths, gasps, creaks, aspirate sounds to symbolise the eminent doom and plague which is to follow. The breath can also be interpreted as the ‘smoke and ash’ left behind from  the plague. Each Madmen physicalises and embodies an aspect of the plague that’s mentioned in the script: charred earth, scorched Indians in flames, fetid gore oozing from the black wound, and a train of mourners. After one full round of flocking, the Madmen ‘disappear’ to one end of the performance space. Oedipus is still in the centre, ploughing through the English text on full voice. 

     Below is a sketch/diagram outlining the action of this section in Scene 6: 

      

     An example of the first 'swipe' is seen in this video footage from a rehearsal. This is the moment when all 4 Madmen progress from one end of the performance space to the other, going from 0 - 100, passing through Oedipus, expressing their internal image of the plague through body and voice. 

The Citizens

After the final ‘swipe’, trample and Flocking, the Madmen freeze, and are drawn to the open mouth of the Black Death. They move in whatever position they were left in during the Flocking. The Madmen become the Hounds of Hell, each person representing an emotion, feeling or element found in Hell. The Black Death puts all their heads down one by one, and they begin Pretzeling. At the command of the Black Death, they stop and lift their heads up revealing their mask (eyes rolled back, teeth covered with their lips, tongue lashing - all reminiscent of the Butoh inspired Gargoyle). This sequence happens three times, and on the third ‘lift of the head’, they move to surround Oedipus. When they reach their position, they take a piece of material from their costume, let go of their masks, and ‘dance’ with it in their hands. They become the Citizens of Thebes. Each Citizen tells Oedipus what they are seeing in their environment, their images being portrayed through their pieces of material. Oedipus reaches for the ‘image’ or the piece of material, and at the end of their line, the Citizen drops their object - only to disappoint Oedipus. As the next Citizen speaks their line, the first Citizen progresses to pick their object very slowly until they eventually pick it up again when it is their turn. On Oedipus’s line ‘Gods. I stretch out my hands’ the Citizens tie their materials onto Oedipus, then create a throne with their bodies by lifting him up. The Citizens then transform into Monstrous Savages who are people who have not learnt any language, with voices that no one has hear before, and place him on to the ground. 

The final part of Scene 6 could be a small scene in itself. It represents the chaos and dichotomy present in the city - to echo the sacrifice in the Tiresias scene. After the Madmen place Oedipus in the V-Pull position, they form two lines facing each other, each line representing an emotion (in this case, one line: happiness and the other line: fear) with Oedipus in the middle. Oedipus instigates the movements of the Madmen by calling out, on impulse, the consonant sounds of the 'Iam nocte...' speech. When the madmen hear the sounds, they, in order:


Sound: Vocalise on 'Iam nocte...' speech with no context or emotion.
Sound: Move into extreme mask and body of that emotion.
Sound: Vocalise on 'Iam nocte...' speech with no context or emotion. 
Sound: Neutral mask and body.
Sound: Vocalise on 'Iam nocte...' speech with extreme vocal representation of that emotion.

Sound: Move into extreme mask and body of that emotion.
Sound: Vocalise on 'Iam nocte...' speech with no context or emotion. 
Sound: Neutral mask and body.
Sound: Move into extreme mask and body of that emotion.
Sound: In that physical state, move into position to the next scene.


What is actually happening, and where the focus is
It is very difficult to express any emotion without any physical response or movement. By placing bodies in extreme poses, or physical states, the voice needs to work harder in order to communication that particular emotion. In fact, you are sensing into a deeper muscular connection, and allowing only the deeper muscles to work rather than the entire body. This is also the case when in neutral body and extreme voice. You are forced to use the internal musculature and inner workings of the body to produce that sound. 

Recurring elements

1) The ‘swipe’ – this indicates external manipulation of the voice and body, the physio-vocal aspects of the individual are palpable, manipulated and morphed into a new shape and form signifying transformations not created by the individual, but created by external forces.

2) The notion of ‘trampling’ or ‘running over’. This is put in place to show that in fact, nature, or these powerful external forces cannot be controlled. They control us and there is nothing we can do to directly change these natural forces. This may be representative of Oedipus not being able to control his fate.

 

Scene 7: Iam Nocte

In this adaptation, Scene 7 which occurs approximately in the middle of the play, is actually the very first lines of dialogue from the original production:

‘Iam nocte Titan dubius expulsa redit
et nube maestum squalida exoritur iubar...’

This has been loosely translated as:

‘The night has ended.

The sun rises and ascends itself from the black clouds.

It shines its beams on the plague filled Earth...’

Originally, Oedipus says this dialogue and sets the scene. He stays unmarked even though the temples and homes have been illuminated by the rising sun, exposing the plague which fill them. Oedipus sees piles of corpses everywhere amongst the endless terror through the darkness that has been pierced by the rising sun.

Instead of Oedipus delivering this line by himself, The Plague enters to join in the dialogue. Oedipus is seen on stage in the centre. The Plague appears. The Plague could be a representation of Oedipus’ unconscious – the fact that he is to blame for the plague engulfing Cadmus and he therefore is one with the plague. Oedipus represents the ‘logical’ and ‘intellectual’ aspect of this split persona, and The Plague represents the ‘soul’. The Plague walks in the periphery of the space always maintaining a connection to Oedipus, as he unconsciously brought The Plague to the city. She moves with a solid connection to the ground holding an imaginary mirror – a device to make Oedipus look at himself – a realization that he is to blame for this disaster. She progressively moves closer to Oedipus. 

There is a contending/yielding energy present in this scene. Oedipus does not want The Plague near, but he is unconsciously drawn to it – or in a sense, he draws the Plague near to him. At the end of the scene, The Plague engulfs Oedipus and he is drawn into the mirror she holds. For his speech, a non-conventional method of delivery was explored. The text was broken up to form a postverbal to-and-fro dialogue between the two characters.

Oedipus speaks the consonants of the ‘Iam nocte…’ dialogue, while The Plague speaks the vowels of the lines. 

Scene 8: Tiresias

At the end of the previous scene, The Plague is seen on top of Oedipus, as she shows him the 'invisible' mirror she has been carrying. Oedipus, still not wanting to hear the fact that he is to blame for the plague,  leads The Plague through the space. The Plague turns into Apollo's Priestess:

APOLLO’S PRIESTESS undoes her hair. She shakes it – tosses it from side to side. Her whole body twists and writhes from side to side. She had not yet reached the cave when a voice - a voice louder than any human voice speaks:

Mitia Cadmeis remeabunt sidera Thebis,


si profugus Dircen Ismenida liquerit hospes


regis caede nocens, Phoebo iam notus et infans.                              


nec tibi longa manent sceleratae gaudia caedis:


tecum bella geres, natis quoque bella relinques,


turpis maternos iterum reuolutus in ortus.

[Kind stars will return to the Theban city of Cadmus, when the fugitive guest is no longer seen on the banks of the Dirce stained with the Kings blood since birth it will not be long, ‘with thee thou shalt bring war, and war to thy sons leave behind thee, The murderer crept back into your mother’s womb]

Oedipus is thrusted back on his block by Apollo's Priestess as the entire chorus cry out: 'Doom - cries - chant - riddle' as Tiresias is being prepared. 

Tiresias approaches with Manto, his daughter, leading him. She sits on his shoulders, with both hands covering his eyes and her hair obstructs his face. He slowly shuffles forward, and as he does so, two 'flames' twist and writhe through his legs. As Tiresias speaks Latin, focusing on the vowel sounds, the flames 'speak' the English with no emotional context within the spaces of the vowels. This is what's described as 'sound bubbles'. Manto describes the sacrifice - a Bull is being slaughtered on the alter as Oedipus watches. After a very descriptive sacrifice following:

      FLAMES open to welcome a BULL.

The BULL raises its head.

They face it to the east – to the sun - it is frightened.

It is terrified.

Shivering.

      BULL fearfully raises its head, it shivers in terror.

The heifer heaved at the coming stroke.

The breast gapes wide.

The sward struck twice.

The heifer struggles.

It staggers.

It is bleeding freely from the open breast.

Smears of blood around other parts.

Dark blood flows richly through its mouth and eyes.

Tiresias calls for the Earth to be opened to 'speak to the dead'. As he proclaims: 'Dum nos profundae claustra laxamus Stygis' (We will unlock the gates of Styx), Manto is taken down from Tiresias's shoulders, all (except for Tiresias) usher the Plague who is to transform into Laius in the centre. He freezes in that position.  The flames retreat behind Tiresias and then move to the Plague who is to be Lauis and on the last word of: 'populare Bacchi laudibus carmen sonet', they place their hands in unison on his head - he falls to the ground and all place their hands on his back. 

Scene 9: Tiresias Summons Up The Dead

Tiresias's eyes (blinded, rolled back) is now exposed as Manto's hands are not covering them anymore. His mouth gapes open and:

TIRESIAS stands focused - chanting - repeatedly summons up the dead and calls to the underworld.

He is in a frenzy.

Distorted face.

Fiercely.

Frenzied lips.

Screaming.

Whispering.

More blood on the alters is poured.

More flesh is thrown.

With his left hand TIRESIAS pours wine.

He chants over and over and over again.

Eyes to the ground.

He summons the ghosts with a deep dark tone – loud and wild.

The whole woods shake – the whole Earth shakes.

Then he cries: 

AUDIOR! [My prayers are heard]

RATA VERBA FUDI; RUMPITUR CAECUM CHAOS ITERQUE POPULIS DITIS AD SUPEROS DATUR! [Prevailing words I uttered; blind Chaos is burst open, and for the tribes of Dis a way is given to the upper world]

Laius is crouched down in the centre. The others surround him and engage in the Geology exercise. In alternating lines, the rest retreat to another imagined area in the space (they may not reach it) as they repeat the line using outward breath (whisper). On the other line, they go back to Laius as they repeat the line using inward breath. As this is happening, Laius ‘risis’ from the ground while slowly spinning continually in a 360 degree motion. He has no face, he has no features. He begins as a pile of decomposed flesh and slowly transforms into a fragment of as human that Laius once was. On the very last words he utters, he is fully upright.

Sketch depicting Laius rising and 'Geology':

Scene 10: Blind
The Chorus/Plague whisper 'tell us...tell us...' as they position themselves opposite Oedipus, standing in a semi-circle. Oedipus hurries to the palace (which is on top of his block) feeling guilt and sin. He hurries:

like a lion prowling.

Angry face, tossing mane.

Black rage – glaring eyes.

Groaning wild – deep.

Cold sweat pours from every limb.

Curses with foaming lips.

The Plague express the body and mask of happiness, and the sound of fear - a contradiction. On each of the lines 'come', in:

Come – someone with a sword to pierce my guilty breast.

Come – someone with stones to stone me to death.

Come – someone with fire to burn me alive.

Come – some bird of prey to pick at my flesh.

Come – some starving tiger to tear me to shreds.

Come – wild dogs to rip me to pieces.

Come – death. 

The Plague/Chorus move forward expressing their physical state with their contradicting voices. The finally reach (and face) Oedipus on his line 'I am not afraid', and turn away from him (facing the audience) to show the mask of fear - the expression of the sound they have been vocalising. Oedipus draws a sward then speaks:

Will one strike end all.

My mother – my children – suffering – my suffering.

No.

I shall live.

A second life.

Oedipus sheds a flood of tears and the Plague cries with him when:

Fury in his voice.

Face of fiery passion.

Eyes so fixed they could be coming out of their sockets by themselves.

Wild looks.

Madness.

Groan – terrifying roar.

Thrusts his fingers into his eyes.

Wrenching from their roots he tears his eyes out.

Fingers bent.

Fingers still probing the open holes – nails scratching the open cavities.

Holes  gaped hollow where the eyes had been.

Looks toward the heavens scanning the sky.

Tears away the last remaining shreds.

And Oedipus speaks: 'I have found darkness'. The Plague walk away from Oedipus.

Scene 11: Finished

Oedipus walks down from his throne as the Plague withdraw and gesture to the mask of Oedipus which hangs above their heads. 'This is the real face of Oedipus' they chant as they are both drawn to the mask, and drawn out from the city. Jocasta enters in a crazed mad rage: she runs. She stops suddenly. She wants to speak but she is afraid to. She is appalled. Pity overcomes her shame. She speaks haltingly: 'What do I call you. Natu es (you are my son).' She stabs herself in the womb and falls.

Scene 12: Hear Me

Oedipus leaves. As he does so, he speaks:

I am leaving.

Profuge [I am flying]

I leave you Thebes.

Come with me.

Come with me fate – disease – plague – pain – terror.

Come.

Come.

Guide me.

ducibus his uti libet (Tis sweet to have such guides).

Oedipus, blind, is drawn to the Head Plague - she pulls him using an invisible string. Darkness fills the stage just before he vanishes.

EPILOGUE: THE DANCE OF BACCHUS

SOUNDS OF WAVES

BACCHUS as an egg in the centre.

Drums. Music. Chanting.

Vulgar merrymakers dance their secret mysteries around BACCHUS.

BACCHUS reacts to them with voice and body – contradicting voice and body. The dance is continued throughout.

ALL ex BACCHUS:

Lucidum caeli decus. huc ades                           
uotis, quae tibi nobiles
Thebae, Bacche, tuae
palmis supplicibus ferunt.
huc aduerte fauens uirgineum caput,
uultu sidereo discute nubila
et tristes Erebi minas                           
auidumque fatum.

Thebes and Madness

ALL ex BACCHUS:

nunc Cadmeas inter matres
      impia maenas
comes Ogygio uenit Iaccho,
nebride sacra praecincta latus.
Tibi commotae pectora matres
      fudere comam                           
thyrsumque leuem uibrante manu

Enter Iacchus of Ogygia with hair flowing. She is possessed by madness because of BACCHUS.

Pirates into dolphins

            OMNES: [Transformations]

The angry sea is calm. Birds sing.

            The LION of IDA roars.

A storm. Frightened PIRATES swim the seas. They change forms. Their

breasts doubles down to their bellies, fins develop on their sides, they form

tails, and they are now DOLPHINS that follow the ship.

Blood, Milk and Power

They sail to Lydia where Massagetan worriers drink blood and milk.

They lay their bows and arrows down at BACCHUS command.

Massagetan worriers:

laxauit uictos arcus Geticasque sagittas
lactea Massagetes qui pocula sanguine miscet;                           
regna securigeri Bacchum sensere Lycurgi;

Wild HORDES and Amazons

The wild hordes of the Amazons charge at BACCHUS. His

presence is powerful and they discarded their weapons, bow down their faces

to the ground and joined the Bacchic dance.

wild hordes of the Amazons:

Naxos Aegaeo redimita ponto
tradidit thalamis uirginem relictam
meliore pensans damna marito:                              

Bacchus and his bride

Bacchus finds a bride deserted by her former lover in Naxos, the Aegean isle.

Bacchus marries the deserted maiden. They engage in a mating dance.

Liquor oozes out of the dry rock.

BACCHUS’s BRIDE:

Sacer Cithaeron sanguine undauit
Ophioniaque caede;                              
Proetides siluas petiere, et Argos
praesente Bacchum coluit nouerca.

To the heavens

BACCHUS’s BRIDE is led into the heavens.

Phebus is there with radian hair aflame, he sings.

Twin cupids brandish their torches.

Jupiter lays aside his fiery weapons and when Bacchus comes, he does

not touch his thunderbolts.

PHEBUS:

Ducitur magno noua nupta caelo:
sollemne Phoebus
carmen infusis humero capillis
cantat et geminus Cupido                           
      concutit taedas;
telum deposuit Iuppiter igneum
conditque Baccho ueniente fulmen.

END

Treatment of Text and Language

Words hold an immense amount of meaning, and this meaning is entrenched in conventional, textual drama. Most contemporary Australian theatre audiences do not expect to hear a foreign language (or in this case, an archaic language) on stage. I chose to use a substantial amount of Latin rather than English for several reasons. Firstly, to allow the actors to physically and vocally enter a space and place where they intentionally not know what they are actually saying. This way, they can put their intellect and logic aside and focus on the sounds and rhythm of the words instead of the logical meaning of the text. There are, of course, many non-conventional ways of dealing with the text. In the Tiresias scene for example, we developed a concept called ‘Sound Bubbles’, where one character (Tiresias) over emphasizes the vowels when his speaks his Latin text and the other characters (Flames), actually speak English text in those pockets of vowels. The other textual treatment was the use of Holistic Phrasing.

Holistic utterances that were the precursor to words formed a simple but organic form of communication. This is referred to as Holistic Phrasing. Contemporary language developed from these utterances, they joined together to form words in order to create more complex meanings. Iam Nocte uses holistic phrasing as part of its preverbal treatment of language (i.e. expression of words, thoughts and emotion using sound alone). Verbal expression is when the performers speak either decipherable English or Latin words, and postverbal (not in the grammatical sense) is used when the spoken word is deconstructed, fragmented, pulled apart and restructured (e.g. Scene 7). Postverbal treatment is like looking at something in so much detail that the background comes to life rather than the foreground, or looking so deep into something that the logical or obvious sense of it disappears and the ‘essence’ of it – whatever it may be – becomes clear. All three textual treatments have been used in the training to exercise these concepts: different ways of looking at voice and text.

These elements have been put together to show audiences how elusive language is and how ever changing, and malleable it can be. The true beauty of language is not only the ability of it to communicate semantic meaning, but the sonorous quality it has. These sonorous qualities allow the audience to view the language itself rather than the intellectual meanings it refers to.

The thing that some actors think about the most is interpreting a text. They are concerned about the meaning and how to say the words and they ignore the sounds and how they make them feel. They do not get the sound, sense and feeling into their bodies. However, bodies and voices in space does not only mean movement and continuous sound, it can mean stillness – and silence. A performer can command an audience by being still and by being silent.