The Specificity of the Dramatic Form and Ethical Issues in the Drama of Simona Semenič

Abstract

The paper deals with three no longer dramatic texts (Poschmann) by Simona Semenič, namely the feast or the story of a savory corpse or how roman abramovič, the character janša, julia kristeva, age 24, simona semenič and the initials z. i. found themselves in a tiny cloud of tobacco smoke; sophia or while i almost ask for more or a parable of the ruler and the wisdom and seven cooks, four soldiers, three sophias. The main characters in all three texts are bullied and abused women, victims of religious and political wars as well as of patriarchal paradigms and enforced social roles. Their stories are based on true stories and then set within a timeless fictional frame in their fragmentary form. Characteristic of Simona Semenič’s writing is the subversion of traditional reading conventions which involves the reader more closely into the decoding of the text and its interpretation. The division between the dialogue and stage directions disappears as stage directions become more than mere directions and their narrative function is emphasized. It is therefore necessary that the addressee of the text reconsiders basic relations within it, who speaks and to whom, what is the position of the author, of the dramatis personae, and their own position. The reader/spectator is more emotionally and cognitively involved in the plot and thus becomes to a greater degree a participant, and consequently responsible for the state of the society. Simona Semenič uses innovative textual strategies to achieve an artistic impact and to open up ethical aspects through a universal perspective. Even though she violates dramatic conventions, she at the same time relativizes and revitalizes them, and her new textual strategies are closely tied to the problems of reception and the power of the theatre today.