Big Bad Metaphors
IEB Dramatic Arts
Nicola Waite
,Nicola Waite July 2021
Contents
Context .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Political:............................................................................................................................................... 2
Social: .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Economic:............................................................................................................................................ 2
Historical: ............................................................................................................................................ 2
Theatrical: ........................................................................................................................................... 2
Influences ................................................................................................................................................ 3
Socio-political: ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Theatrical: ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Playwright’s intentions: .......................................................................................................................... 3
Sustainable Development Goals ......................................................................................................... 3
Styles ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Process of Playmaking: ........................................................................................................................... 5
Genre and Style:...................................................................................................................................... 5
Staging:.................................................................................................................................................... 6
Stage: .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Set: ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Props: .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Costumes: ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Lighting:............................................................................................................................................... 7
Sound: ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Themes/Ideas:......................................................................................................................................... 7
Characters: .............................................................................................................................................. 7
Explored with Acting styles: .................................................................................................................... 7
Structure & Plot: ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Actor/Audience Relationship: ................................................................................................................. 8
Language ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Relevance & Efficacy: .............................................................................................................................. 8
Title Relevancy: ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Rough Notes.......................................................................................................................................... 10
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, Nicola Waite July 2021
Context
Political:
Court case scene – ministers are mentioned and corruption directly linked
to the South African government. Sustainable development goals.
Difficult to pinpoint a political context when it is an environmental
workshopped play.
There are political references, which lead to satire (political poking fun,
being irreverent around a political statement).
It is more satirical (SEE STYLE).
Perhaps the context of post-apartheid. The play was written in 2019/2020.
Social:
We are looking at SDGs. The haves and have nots. And the environment. Corruption, ‘environments
that’s been destroyed or been corrupted or is decaying’. A society that is decaying. World-wide.
Economic:
Ties in with social (socio-economically)
Poverty
Those that live without. The haves and the have notes.
The unemployment. Massive disparity between the wealthy and the poor.
Historical:
21st century play which is modern and up to date with everything going on and is looking forwards to
2030. Contemporary (now) problems. Problems we have right now.
Theatrical:
Post 1994 South African theatre, POMO. However, POMO theatre hates to be pigeon-holed or
labelled. We have actively gone against what pomo is. Post modernism defies being labelled. We can
simply call this a South African piece of post-modern theatre.
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