Speechness: Grammar and Play

Lynch, Larry (2011) Speechness: Grammar and Play. In: Lone Twin: Journeys, performances and conversations. Performance Research Books, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, pp. 245-251. ISBN 978-1-906499-02-0

Abstract / Summary

This output emerges from an ongoing, and long standing, research involvement with the field of Performance Writing, established at Dartington College of Arts in the early 1990s. Briefly, Performance Writing considers an 'expanded' field of writing practice, taking-on writing both 'for', and 'as', performance. This essay applies aspects of his approach to the work of British Performance Group Lone Twin Theatre. The essay suggests that the way their work works is significantly determined by a very particular use of language that, in grammatical terms, relates to the reconstitution of modes of public address and vernacular discourse, in the context of texts for performance. To open up this idea to scrutiny and extrapolation, I use Bahktin's notion of 'speech genres', proposing that Lone Twin's writing for performance is often developed through the play (or performance) of grammatical construction. Lone Twin are a significant company, working internationally, and this is the first dedicated book of commentary published on their work.

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