Comparison of

A detailed Summary of Comparison of

The play A Mouthful of Birds by Caryl Churchill and David Lan is loosely based around the themes explored by Euripides in The Bacchae. Both plays share similar themes and issues, yet contain many contrasting characters and circumstances due to the modernisation or appropriation of The Bacchae into a post-modern theatre piece for a contemporary audience with different views, morals and beliefs.

The plays both concentrate on themes of violence, possession and transformation. Both works show women violently breaking out of their stereotypical role of the time, and acting possessed, or losing control of the physical and emotional realities of life. The Bacchae demonstrates this mainly through the Bacchaen women who are assumedly possessed by a power or spirit, that of the God Dionysus whom they worship. They are possessed by a madness that causes them to act violently and erratically, for example when Agave is taken over by this madness she kills her son without realizing who he is (Pg. 735 of Thea 111 Collected Plays Handbook). A Mouthful of Birds 'contextualise[s] modern forms of possession (addiction, anxiety, memory, passion etc.) within the Euripidean paradigm of the relation between pleasure, power and violence' .

A Mouthful of Birds contextualises the type of possession presented in The Bacchae to carry on the theme of the play, but the story and direction are changed in order to suit the audience and circumstance of that time. The Bacchae leads audience members to believe that the women are overpowered by their dedication to worshipping Dionysus- worship being an act of pleasure and personal gain (as in favours from the Gods) in Ancient Greece, it is seen that they lose control and are transformed because of their passion. To appropriate this into post-modern theatre, Caryl Churchill and David Lan use the 'Bacchae's madness as violent and "possessive" with contemporary psychological models of the self' . Characters in both plays turn ecstasy into psychosis, which leads to the characters breaking free from social authorities (such as the hasty ruler Pentheus in The Bacchae and the stereotypes and gender issues of society in A mouthful of Birds) and psychological authorities (such as female oppression). Thus, the possession is portrayed as the true passions and desires of the self overpowering the control one usually maintains over these factors. To understand the basis of the theme of psychosis and possession in A Mouthful of Birds, it would benefit people to have previous understanding of the themes and issues in The Bacchae.

The Bacchae and A Mouthful of Birds are both plays that are controversial and similar in theme, yet different due to the appropriation of theatre, as well as the time periods in which each was set. While it would be beneficial to the audience members to have a prior knowledge of both plays before viewing one (particularly of The Bacchae if one wishes to watch A Mouthful of Birds) either play could be enjoyed in its raw and non-comparative form as a piece of theatre that deals with issues relevant to the time period and situation under which the play was performed.

Although it is not necessary to have knowledge of either play to enjoy or appreciate each, it would be favourable for the audience's enjoyment and understanding of the themes and events that take place, especially when considering A Mouthful of Birds. The reason being is that there are characters from The Bacchae adapted into the storyl

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Category: Arts