Drama Assessment: Non Realist Devised Group Performance

Drama Assessment Task S1 Task 2

Non Realist Devised Group Performance

Isolation is being separated from other people or environments. In my group’s performance, Hazy Memories, we used several theories and techniques of the two dramatic forms studied to communicate the theme of isolation. Through different Epic Theatre and Absurdist techniques we communicated the theme of isolation, by the use of a circular plot line, an episodic structure, music, gestures, and characters all in black.

We used the technique of a circular plot line and placards to show the isolation of a man who develops dementia over time. Circular plot lines start and end in the same way or a similar way. We started off with a Christmas scene where the family is enjoying their time together and we ended it with the same Christmas scene, but the grandfather is remembering the Christmas they had together. This shows isolation in that when he is remembering all his precious memories, he is alone and is finding it difficult to recall because he has dementia. The slow decline of his mental state and the fading of his memories in the final scene brings him to the state of complete isolation in the world. The use of the “6 months later” placards shows the nonlinear plot line. This shows how things were before and after he was

The visual image of the fluff being taken and wiped out of him shows the process of his memory loss becoming worse and worse and therefore causing more confusion and isolation is his world. Dementia is a disorder that affects one’s thinking, behaviour, and ability to do simple everyday tasks. At the beginning of the play, we started by only taking a little bit as he forgets small words. However, as he starts to forget bigger and more important things like people’s names and faces, we took more to show that his dementia was