The Repurposed Pantomime: Exploiting aesthetic distance and playfulness via Brechtian dialectics to engage young adult audiences

This thesis seeks to explore the dramaturgical approaches and outcomes related to a pantomime created especially for young adults (aged 13 to 20). The theoretical aspect of the thesis looks at pantomime through the lens of dramaturgy, psychology and cognitive science i.e. the propensity for the pantomime to be subversive in form and content- its light hearted entertainment value masking the multi-layered avenues for political and social commentary, the aesthetic distance it maintains with the audience for Brechtian engagement, its live audience participation techniques to create agency- all of which could be potentially exploited to attract (as willing audiences) and engage young adults (YA).

I then attempt to use these dramaturgical features as creative strategies to write an original script, experimenting with the form and content to arrive at my own interpretation of what such a play with pantomime features might look like in the modern context and syntax of performances that appeal to YA audiences today. As the script of my creative component progresses through three successive workshops, I document my dramaturgical journey to find the complex balance between plot-driven storytelling to create an emotional connection, and framing to create Brechtian Verfremdungseffekt. I emulate the subversive spirit of the precursor to the pantomime, the commedia dell’arte, as I seek to create active engagement by incorporating dialectics in both form and content to achieve Brechtian distancing. I achieve this by discovering liminal overlapping dramaturgical spaces between connection and disconnection, repurposing dialectical features of the pantomime, and embedding deeper layers and themes within the script.

Through the creative component of this performance as research project, I attempt to assess whether these strategies might grab the attention of YA audiences and induce them out of their technologically engineered virtual worlds in order to engage with the ideas on stage and give them a sense of agency in the world at large.