Discuss your own performance concept for one scene of Georg Büchner's Woyzeck.

Scene 18 epitomises Marie’s victimisation at the hands of Woyzeck’s mental illness – this is the theme I will focus on in order to appeal to a modern audience. As Woyzeck’s common-law wife, Marie is subject to his insanity almost as much as Woyzeck is himself (indeed, she loses her life to it), through this scene I will explore the effect mental illness has on those closest to the victim, considering Marie’s character as a victim of circumstance, both of Woyzeck’s insanity, and the Drum Major’s rape. A key component of the scene is also the theme of religion and the biblical language used – I will therefore have Marie dressed all in white, she will also be suspended in mid-air, in the centre of the revolving stage - therefore above the audience. The audience will be raised approximately half way up the dome, and will be in a reclined position, thereby focusing on the top of the dome. In an attempt to absolve herself from guilt Marie turns to religion – when she is quoting the Bible, a choir will congregate beneath the audience and will sing hymns in Latin. Not only will this corroborate her holy words, but it will also create the impression of surrealism as the hymns become increasingly distorted. Marie will be suspended in an angelic fashion holding the bible, as the scene progresses, Marie will blend into the background and the projections onto the dome will cover her also. To show that Woyzeck is responsible for her internal turmoil, distorted images of his face will appear around the dome as though he is constantly in her mind. This heralding of emotional experience over realism adheres to the expressionistic conventions of when it was originally performed. In addition to this, the Three Sixty Theatre dome will create images of claustrophobia and entrapment: when Marie says ‘Don’t look at me Lord’ the dome will become a mirror, reflecting the audience themselves onto all surfaces in sight, thereby surrounding Marie, making her suffering a spectacle. This meta-theatrical technique will raise questions to the audience about the concept of theatre and observation, which link to Buchner’s early social commentary achieved through the self-preservation he observes throughout Woyzeck. I will also consider Marie’s domestication and the pressures of motherhood with a pre-recorded child’s screams and cries – this will torment Marie further as even the solitude she seeks in religion and prayer is taken from her. As the scene progresses, tension rises, and Marie’s white clothes will be made darker through the use of projection (distorted shapes/ shadows, again adhering to expressionism) and lights, I will also utilise Vocal Orchestra Hybrids (consisting of female screams/ cries) to reflect Marie’s inner turmoil and the effect Woyzeck is having on her. A catharsis will be reached near the end of the scene, during the line ‘Dead; all dead! – Oh my Lord, my Lord’. At this point, a 3D projection of a knife, similar to that used to kill Marie in scene 21, will swing over Marie’s head – it will appear as though it has cut the rope Marie is hanging from and she will plummet towards the audience. This is reflective of her own mental deterioration as a result of Woyzeck. The scene will end with Marie suspended above the audience, however it will seem as though she is hanged. The final line ‘If only I could anoint your feet’ will be spoken chorally by the choir below, showing how Marie’s death was inexorable at the hands of society.