Place and Conflicting Powers in David Greig’s The Architect

Abstract

There is a reciprocal connection between a place and its inhabitants who attempt to shape it according to their aspirations and needs. This may result in the emergence of conflicting powers that struggle to control the place and decide its policies that, in return, affect people's lives and careers. This paper focuses on David Greig’s The Architect. The play is concerned with the conflict between Leo Black, an architect who is commissioned by the government to design Eden Court, and the tenants of the building who are represented by Sheena Mackie. The setting symbolizes Scotland and Sheena Mackie and the tenants represent the new generation in Scotland and their aspiration for change. The play will be telescoped through the lense of the Thirdspace theory by the American theorist Edward Soja (1940-2015). According to his theory, space is classified into three levels: the firstspace which represents reality as it is, the secondspace that embraces people's perspectives about the place they occupy, and the thirdspace which combines both of the above-mentioned spaces. The purpose of the study is to show how a place can be determined by the power that succeeds in envisioning a third space combining first and second spaces.

Keywords

• place
• conflicting powers
• old and new generation
• imagination and reality