Temporality and spatiality in contemporary Britisih theatre

Space and time are two interconnected concepts that have a long philosophical background. They lie at the heart of identity construction and have a substantial impact on contemporary literary works. The sense of time and space changed with the emergence of postmodern theory, and its influence became observable in contemporary British theatre, which covers a period between the 1980s and today. Contemporary British playwrights have not only explored (historical or non-historical) identity quests, but also targeted collapsing or transforming conventional theatre concepts by experimenting with time and space with new theatrical techniques in their plays. In addition, the psychological and social reflections of spatial and temporal boundaries along with existential anxiety have become central issues in their plays. This thesis thus aims to shed light upon the use of theatrical time and space by analysing Caryl Churchill's Icecream and Top Girls, Roy Williams' Sucker Punch and Joe Guy and Mark Ravenhill's Over There and Ten Plagues. The use of these concepts in postmodernist, postcolonial and postdramatic plays will not only be examined textually and but also complemented with the details of theatrical performances. Since some of the selected plays present problematic representations of women and black people, special consideration will also be given to the constructions of female and black identities at spatio-temporal intersections.