Identity 2: Love and Information

Building upon the previous journal, writing about our current digital age and identity is no longer representative. In other words, narrative alone does not satisfy the needs of representing the complexities of the digital age. Such complexities include the need for information in brief forms, in short videos and snippets of a larger story. It has to satisfy our thirst for knowledge in a short and efficient time limits. This is exactly what “Love and Information” did, but with a twist.

“Love and Information” is a play written by Caryl Churchill. As part of the Fringe festival, we watch the Randolph Academy’s rendition of the play. At first, I enjoyed all the different bits and pieces being thrown at me. After a short while, however, information started piling up. Information included people’s worries, stories, thoughts, ideas, random bits of knowledge and information, science, technology… That made me in turn reflect on the amount of information I get daily and how it leaves me stressed and anxious and unaware. I felt a huge comfort at the end of the play when all that was being presented is a musical performance with string instruments playing and everyone humming along to the music. For me, that was part of the Love aspect in the play when we all paused to just appreciate taking no information in, but only taking the beauty and appreciating the latter for what it is. This, in turn, reminded me of the Art vs Knowledge argument we discussed in our previous journal.

Therefore, “Love and Information” discussed knowledge within the virtual world and how it affects our ability to love. From this point, we need to study how theatre in turn went about in discussing this changing identity. Churchill’s play was able to make a larger impact not through the use of narrative but through the use of structure. The play did have several bits of narrative; however, the emphasis was on the play as a whole and did not focus on the chronological sequence of events. Churchill uses random pieces of information that kept accumulating without allowing the audience to notice its effect until towards the end when all the information started becoming overwhelming. When the audience is allowed that realization, there was a bit of relief in the Randolph Academy’s performance when they played on some string instruments and made beautiful music rather than give us more information.

The rejection of narrative is one of the characteristics of Postdramatic theatre. However, in Lehmann’s essay, he discusses other characteristics of postdramatic theatre such as the use of digital media and technology (167). In an article by Billington, he reviews a production of “Love and Information” by James McDonald. He indicates how that production makes abundant use of technical theatrical scenography. In the next journal, we will discuss further the use of the digital in theatre in the context of the changing identity and “art as rebellion” concept.

Works Cited

Billington, Michael. “Love and Information – review.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 14 Sept. 2012, www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/sep/15/love-and-information- royal-court-review. Accessed 18 Aug. 2017.

Churchill, Caryl. “Love and Information.” Dir. Andrea Donaldson. 9 July 2017, Toronto, Randolph Academy.

Jürs-Munby, Karen. "Introduction". Postdramatic Theatre. (electronic reading) Ed. Hans-Thies Lehmann. New York: Routledge, 2006. 1-16.

Harford, Sonia. “The search for meaning in the information age.” The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 May 2015, www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/the- search-for-meaning-in-the-information-age-20150525-gh8su6.html. Accessed 18 Aug. 2017.

Matt Ratto (2011): "Critical Making: Conceptual and Material Studies in Technology and Social Life", The Information Society: An International Journal, 27:4, 252-260.