Getting Into Theater

I’ve been opening up to works of theater and plays. I had always thought I did not like theater because it was “too dramatic” or that its style did not resemble realism like in film. But it seems I’ve been looking at it the wrong way!

Dramatic monologues, lighting changes that don’t make “realism” sense, breaking the fourth wall, actors addressing the crowd directly, long pauses, abstract set design… these are all tools that theater has at its disposal… this is how theater gets its power.

Harold Pinter and “Menace In The Mundane”

I’ve been reading excerpts of the American playwright Harold Pinter. One of the narrative themes in his work is the idea of “menace in the mundane”. That is the intrusion of revelation of darkness, danger, or dread in the ordinary world.

I’m drawn to this theme because of that contrast and tension between the seemingly ordinary and unsettling.

This theme manifests in his plays in subtle ways. They are set in ordinary places like boring living rooms and domestic spaces. And characters jockey for power and dominance over each other through their dialogue.

Menace In The Mundane and Power Struggles in The Homecoming

Here is an excerpt from The Homecoming. Max and Ruth are meeting for the first time.

MAX: Do you like cigars?

RUTH: They’re all right.

MAX:  That’s what I like. A woman… with spirit.

(pause)

MAX: What have you got for an armful, eh?

RUTH: What?

MAX: Have you got a good pair of lungs?

RUTH: I’ve got lungs.

MAX: I bet you have.

(pause)

MAX: You married my son, did you? You know what I’m saying? My son. You understand what that means?

RUTH: We’ve been married six years.

Max shifts back and forth between polite small talk and invasive talk, charm and threat. It sounds weird and keeps both Ruth and the audience off balance.

Ruth’s minimal answers also assert a kind of quiet power and strength. She does not give in to his weird power games.

Menace In The Mundane in Obsessed (2009)

Strangely, I was watching the 2009 movie Obsessed with Idris Elba and Beyonce, where I also saw this kind of power struggle in dialogue. Lisa, a temp worker, is meeting her manager’s wife and child for the first time.

https://youtube.com/shorts/5pYLIvQ17c4?si=oHYSXOlY_lj-RoUf

Both Lisa and Sharon shift back and forth between compliment and backhanded comment, charm and threat.

My Takeaway

A big piece of advice in filmmaking and visual storytelling is “show, don’t tell”. We are encouraged to minimize dialogue and show more through body language or visual plot cues.

But it has been good to learn the power of very strong dialogue. There is so much story, emotion, and messaging that can be loaded into dialogue that doesn’t explicitly express it.

I will continue to dive into theater. There is so much to learn! If theater and film are seen as separate disciplines, there is an opportunity to bring the best elements of both into the other.

I love the idea of bringing heightened theater-like drama and elements into the medium of film. Dramatic lighting changes, monologues, and breaking the fourth wall break open the common language of film. It adds more tools to tell story or create vibes in unexpected and novel ways.