Performing Mother and Daughter : A Postdramatic Performance Analysis of Three Contemporary Theatre Productions

Abstract: This master’s thesis is concerned with the portrayal of motherhood and mother-daughter relationships on stage. By conducting performance analyses of three separate contemporary performances, all focused on mother-daughter relationships, the thesis investigates the creation of mother and daughter on stage. Through the lens of Hans-Thies Lehmann’s theory on postdramatic theatre, the thesis dissects aspects of the performances moving beyond the dramatic action to gain further insight into the portrayal of mother and daughter on stage. The thesis aims to investigate the aspects contributing to the creation of mother and daughter on stage, as well as analyse the conveyed meaning of the relationship between them. Combined with a feminist approach, the role of mother and daughter on stage is placed in a larger context, analysing motherhood as an institution and concept, both on and off stage. By understanding the intimate and complex mother-daughter relationship as a product of patriarchal structure, it becomes necessary and relevant to investigate this relationship further. Since the performances portray private relationships in a public space, the analysis is also concerned with the interrelation between the stage and the outside world. The analysed performances are Und dann kam Mirna at the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin, Kung Mor at Teater Galeasen in Stockholm and Mommy Issues at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm. The material for the thesis mainly consists of my experiences of the performances in the role of spectator and the theatre texts. By using Lehmann’s theory as a starting point, the analyses are centred around moving beyond the narrative to investigate other aspects on stage, such as objects, physicality, levels of reality, intertextuality, intermediality and the use of text on stage. The thesis dissects how these aspects contribute to the creation of mother and daughter on stage, as well as analyses the portrayed generational differences and their impact on the mother-daughter relationship in the performances. The analyses place the portrayed mothers and daughters into a larger context, by including concepts such as performativity and the male gaze. The thesis shows how the portrayal of motherhood and mother-daughter relationships on stage can be created by reaching beyond a narrative or a desired understandability. Together, the three performance analyses contribute with concluding insights into the internal logic and structures of the performances.