Lloyd Newson’s work does not only address the aesthetics of dance but often the wider psychological issues surrounding the subject matter. Such subject matter can often be seen as both controversial and challenging, questioning the ‘normal’ social conventions of human behaviour. Newson’s ability to address such social taboos relies on his acute understanding of psychology and his artistic abilities to show fantasy and the unconscious within contemporary theatre performance. His work Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men, although one of his older works, shows a clear connection between art and psychology with reference to Denis Nilsen; a serial killer who influenced the creation of the work. We also look at other artists who have chosen to show the use of the unconscious in their work, drawing comparisons towards Newson’s practice.
Dream Scenes
Many early expressionist plays and films were structured to create a ‘dream like quality’ through the use of several short scenes, which quickened the pace of the work and sometimes fragmented the narrative of the piece, drawing comparisons to the illogical structure of a dream. Newson’s Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men is similarly structured with the use of relatively short sections to compose the work, making it appear abstract with, (arguably), no logical arrangement of scenes. The characters appear and disappear inconsistently, uninvolved in a successive narrative throughout the piece but participating in individual, isolated situations within each section, contributing further to the dream like structure in the work. The construction of the work could also indicate the nature of its title, creating dreams that represent the influential fantasies of Dennis Nilsen (the “Monochrome” man). The title and the structure of the work also bears some resemblance to the expressionist playwright, August Strindberg’s A Dream Play (1901), where a description of the expressionist play could be seen almost to describe Dead Dreams.
Art and the Unconscious State of Mind
Dreams are only one element of the unconscious state of mind that forms part of psychological expressionism. Many expressionists chose to depict the state of consciousness of their subject, without using the form of a dream. One artist in particular who created what some would call ‘psychological portraiture’ was the painter Oskar Kokoschka whose works were able to capture his subjects’ different states of mind by using different brush techniques. As shown in his series of Black Portraits, Kokoschka used different paint textures to represent different states of consciousness, such as the use of thin transparent paint to portray a subject asleep with the contrast of thick, swirls of paint to represent the psychological effects of the mind when awake, for instance anxiety and despair. An example can be seen in his portrait titled The Tempest or The Bride of the Wind (1914) which depicts Kokoschka and his lover, Alma Mahler, in an embrace. Whilst he is awake, she is asleep on his shoulder.
Similarities in Lloyd Newson’s work
Kokoschka’s ability to display his subjects’ different states of consciousness reflects Newson’s use of movement to portrayal his dancers’ different states of mind. In Dead Dreams, the dancers state of mind presented in Dead Dreams can be loosely arranged into two conditions, reflected by the dynamics of their movement. Their calm, rational state of mind is represented by smooth controlled movements, demonstrated by Russel Maliphant during his interaction with Nigel Charnock. Maliphant calmly stands facing Charnock, steadily raising his hand in an attempt to touch Charnock’s face. Charnock hastily backs away, tensed and anxious, his breathing becoming louder and more intense with every attempt Maliphant makes to touch him. Charnock represents the other state of mind presented in Dead Dreams, the irrational, intense state that is sometimes almost crippled with anxiety and pain inflicted by the outside world. This anxiety is represented constantly in Dead Dreams by the portrayal of physical pain inflicted on the bodies of the dancers, their irrational state of mind, evident through tense, sudden movements that physically exhaust them and leave them drained and breathless.
Source
- Masters, Brian (1985) Killing for Company: the case of Dennis Nilsen, London: Arrow Books
- Bergner, Gwen and Nicole Plett (1996) ‘Uncanny Woman and Anxious Masters: Reading Coppélia Against Freud’ in Morris, Gay, ed. Moving Words: London, Routledge
- Leask, Josephine (1995) ‘The Silence of the Man: an essay on Lloyd Newson’s Physical Theatre’, Ballet International, August/September, 48-53
Amy Watson - Amy-Louise is Artistic Director of the dance theatre company 90 Degree Rotations and has a PGCE in Dance Teaching.
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