The contested space of death on stage (original) (raw)

Death and dying are frequently represented on (and off) stage. Shakespeare offers no fewer than 74 deaths through stabbings, poisonings, snakes and bears. Chekhov and Ibsen both wrote of death and suicide. Audiences at modern musicals are no less spared death, be it at the hand of the barber's razor, crossing a barricade or crucified on a cross: the dispatch of a character can be a pivotal plot device. Audiences, too, are complicit in these theatrical acts of death. They assemble for a performance under an unwritten contract that they will suspend their disbelief for what is about to take place. Theatrical deaths are all tightly rehearsed and choreographed so the actor can still return to take their bows, yet for some the final curtain call comes sooner than expected. Molière took ill during a performance and died shortly afterwards while tenor Richard Versalle died mid-show at the Metropolitan Opera. The audience are not immune either with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. This paper considers the stage as a contested space, one in which the theatrical trappings of death are occasionally replaced by genuine expressions of grief. With a specific focus on the Sydney Opera House as a facilitator this notation will be examined to reveal some of the similarities in the presentation of death in a theatrical sense as well as in the broader community on stage.