Symbolon (Oct 2020)
La notion de secret a l’ere de la revelation: Barker, l'acteur et le confessionnal de verre a travers « Und », monologue pour une actrice
Abstract
Secrecy in Age of Revelation: Barker, Actor and Glass Confessional through “Und”, Monologue for an Actress Howard Barker does not believe in communion or in frantic revelation. The audience is a voyeur; the actor is not there to tell us what to do or what to think. The author, who offers "versions of the truth", is convinced that the dark side is paramount and that secret is what makes us. The Catholic Church, as reported by Barker at a conference in 1995, has transformed the confessional into a glass case in the name of modernity, diminishing intimacy into a show of intimacy. Western societies are obsessed with transparency and the idea of revelation. In an atmosphere where every secret is hunted, dissected and thrown to the lions, is it still possible to invent while maintaining our share of mystery, while celebrating intimacy and its contradictions? We will study how the actor juggles "his" secrets to make the strength and mystery of Barker’s language, using the monologue “Und”.
