셰익스피어 공연에서의 수행적 실험과 포스트모던적 현대성 —제의적 수행에서 관객이 ‘쓰는’ 놀이적 수행까지

Abstract

This article focuses on the aspect of performativity in performances of Shakespeare’s plays in Korea as well as the postmodern quality of the performances. Performativity signifies the co-existence of the stage and the audience. What takes place on the stage affects and is affected by the audience. Therefore the audience and the performance on the stage together produce multiple meanings which change at every instant. The four performances considered in this article are based on Shakespeare’s works, and each has unique characteristics. However, they all involve and show the interactions between the performance and the audience, thereby demolishing the fourth wall and the barrier between the stage and the audience. Jukjuk’s <Macbeth> is performative in two ways: first, the performance is so materialistic that it touches the inner memory and feelings of the audience and, second, it produces open signifiers. The performance itself communicates with the audience through its ritualistic aspect, inducing changes in the emotions of the audience, and thus increasing the degree of performativity. The movements of characters are neither standard nor conventional: sometimes they are like dances and sometimes they are like Takgeon. The positions of the chairs are changed continuously and these arrangements form special relationships with the characters. Therefore, the movements of the characters and positions of the chairs produce meanings that are ambiguous for the audience, and thus act as open signifers. <Romeo and Juliet Are Murdered> continuously urges the audience to compare and contrast Shakespeare’s work and the movie by Franco Geffireli. Therefore, the audience participates in the process of creating the meanings because the performance on the stage creates open signifiers to be felt and understood by the audience. The performance is different from both the original work and the movie, in that it is a complete parody of the originals. This use of parody results in the process, for the audience, of comparing the two texts. In this way, the performance induces the continued participation of the audience and employs a high degree of performativity. <The Taming of a Shrew> and <A Comic Show, Romeo and Juliet> are further examples of active performativity. In these works, the audience ‘writes’ the work by actively participating in the performances. For example, at the beginning of the performance the audience chooses the actor and actress to play Romeo and Juliet from among many candidates, and in the middle of the performance they change the actor and actress. The performances rely entirely upon the intervention and the participation of the audience. Therefore, the performativity of the two performances is strongly enhanced and the traditional distinction between the stage and the audience is strikingly reduced. It can be concluded that the four above-mentioned works are each performative in unique ways. Furthermore, there are also strong postmodern aspects of the four above-mentioned works. In <Macbeth>, signifiers do not have any fixed meaning; they are left open through ambiguity and connotative suggestion. <Romeo and Juliet> uses parody in a post-modern fashion, and <The Taming of a Shrew> and <A Comic Show> have a hyper-textual quality, and at the same time depend upon the element of chance. All of these postmodern characteristics are analyzed in this article.