Does in-yer-face still possess the power to shock? An exploration of intentions and reception of elements of verbal and visual violence in in-yer-face plays as a pathway to social commentary in Sarah Kane's Blasted, Tim Crouch's The Author and Anthony Neilson Penetrator.

Abstract

Whilst it is widely acknowledged that in-yer-face theatre is shocking for its audiences, this study examines how this style gained its reputation and if it still has the power to have the same affect today. It begins with a background to the study, outlining the social and political context in Britain - which led to the origins of the in-yer-face style - as well as the theatre which influenced the work of the practitioners, and an introduction to the theories which will be applied to the texts. In the main chapters there is an exploration of three in-yer-face plays - written by playwrights who approach the shocking of their audiences differently. By examining Anthony Neilson's use of verbal and visual shock, Sarah Kane's visual shock and Tim Crouch's verbal shock, the study provides an in-depth, textual and conceptual analysis, which leads to a discussion of how apposite the texts are to the time period that they originate from. In addition to this, the thesis identifies the playwrights' intentions for the relationship between the actor and the spectator in regards to their own work; this is followed up by a comparative discussion of these relationships. Through a combination of comparisons and analysis, the study offers suggestions as to why in-yer-face is no longer a popular style for playwrights to write in, and to gage the development of the actor and spectator relationship within this style.