The actor-character in metadrama (based on Alex Wood’s play “The Fourth Wall”)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28925/2311-259x.2026.1.4Keywords:
metadrama, metatheatre, metacharacter, actor-character, play within a play, scene within a scene, mise en abyme, contemporary dramaAbstract
The subject of this article is the metadramatic techniques used in Alex Wood’s play “The Fourth Wall”: the implementation of heraldic construction in its composition, the actor-character as the central figure of the play, and the specificity of the main character’s image as a metacharacter. Metadramatic trends are clearly evident in contemporary drama and therefore require both critical and scientific reception. Alex Wood’s play “The Fourth Wall” is not only an example of metadrama in contemporary Ukrainian literature but also an attempt to raise several sensitive issues through self-reflection. Among them, in particular, is the problem of the actor’s freedom in the theatrical system, which has become acute in today’s public discourse. The aim of the study is to identify the peculiarities of highlighting this problem using special genre techniques of metadrama, in particular, direct manifestation through the image of the actor-character. To accomplish this task, comparative-historical and structural-semiotic methods were used, thanks to which a broad, comprehensive view of the problem was achieved.
The study proves that Alex Wood’s play “The Fourth Wall” is metadramatic, as it employs techniques characteristic of the genre (the use of heraldic construction, the episation of action, metacharacters). In particular, the actor-character is a unique device that makes the text an artistic platform for discussing the problem of the actor. The theme of the creative autonomy of the performer has remained relevant for Ukrainian theatre over the last century, and contemporary researchers rely on the theoretical legacy of Les’ Kurbas to explore it. “The Fourth Wall” is one of the ways of addressing this issue at the intersection of metaliterature and metatheatre.
The relevance of the study is determined by the urgency of the problem of the actor’s status and rights and his creative self-realisation in Ukrainian theatre, as well as the temporal novelty of the play studied. The scientific novelty of the work is due to its focus on the specific aspect of the manifestation of metadramatic poetics and its artistic potential in highlighting sociocultural problems. The practical significance of the study lies in the applicability of its results for both literary scholars and stage practitioners in the staging of metadramatic works.
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