Representing the Unrepresentable: A Critical Analysis of Staging Genocide

Abstract

This paper explores the theatrical staging of genocide using Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection to highlight the impossibility of understanding and fully comprehending genocide. Traditional staging methods typically use a cohesive narrative structure which limits and edits the event to provide a stable conclusion. The debate of representing genocide does not centre solely on why one tries to stage these events but has shifted to emphasize how and if these events can be represented. Many theatre groups recognize the benefits of non-traditional staging methods. Groupov’s Rwanda 94 (2000) highlights the inability of the abject to be performed and the impossibility of containing genocide by the length of the production as well as the integration of several art forms. In the exploration of visuality in Hotel Modern’s Kamp (2005) the challenges of representing pain and violence are foregrounded. The ability to view the Holocaust is impacted by the intersection between film and the use of small puppets.