I've been reading over a few of the posts, and generally I have to agree that, as written, Utopia could not be a successful, interesting play. There really isn't plot or characters, or even dialogue (at least in Book 2 where the main focus is). Essentially, the entire Book 2 would be setting the scene, rather than acting as one, if one were to look at it from a play perspective. However, to me, the main issue with More's Utopia is that there is no obvious conflict that would allow for a great story. There needs to be drama. Without it, an audience can't become connected and leave the theatre satisfied.
So, while Utopia as written would not be a great stage play, I think the concept presents a strong idea. I think what one would have to do to turn this into a play is add elements that would somehow develop characters and stir emotion and conflict. The Utopian society could exist as More wrote it, but something would have to cause change and difference for a successful play to work. No matter what, a stage play would have to be creative in adding elements of some sort. I took some time to brainstorm some ideas, so let me know your thoughts.
One idea would be to have Raphael as the protagonist. As it states in the book, Raphael journeyed to Utopia and stayed for 5 years. Obviously he is not a citizen of the island, so he is not accustom to their ways upon arrival. Essentially, the plot would be that Raphael begins to make connections to people in Utopia while living there, and begins to spark ideas of individuality and expression, and that there is value to ownership and a passion for career. He begins to cause conflict between citizens, who realize that there is more to life than the simplicity of Utopia. This is a more involved idea, which would require a lot of character development.
Also, I read Kristen's blog, which brings up Our Town by Thorton Wilder, one of my favorite plays, and I have to credit Kristen for inspiring this idea. A very simple 3-act play, there is nothing overly complex about it. It simply looks into the life of two American families, and the love that their children develop. However, to me, the most interesting aspect of Our Town is the third act, where we see the citizens as spirits, post life. This could be an interesting take on Utopia as well, where maybe in the first act, we witness the lives of citizens within the society, and then the second (or third) act is a look at them in the afterlife, as spirits, looking back on how they lived in Utopia. The moral of Our Town is to cherish life and value it to its fullest, and I feel a similar plot and moral could work with Utopia.
These are just two thoughts about transforming Utopia into a stage play. I'm no creative genius, so I would love to hear any thoughts/alterations/other ideas you might have.
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- Matt McClure
- Spending last semester interning in NYC. Not sure what comes next...
I think using Raphael as the protagonist would be a cool idea - the play could be centered around him, his ideas and his thoughts on the Utopian society. It would be interesting, however, if the play were like Out Town, and in the third act you have the people looking back on life in Utopia. Would their thoughts be like those of Our Town in which the moral would be to cherish life when you have it, or would it be more about expressing individuality and realizing life in Utopia was dry, stuffy and suffocating?
ReplyDeletei liked how you brought up the lack of conflict in the text as a major problem to converting it to the stage. i too saw this problem and related the staging of Utopia to an exercise in theater of the absurd. check it out if you're interested: http://britlitlog.blogspot.com/2011/04/utopia-on-stage-rum-4-week-10.html
ReplyDeletefurthermore, i really liked your idea of making Raphael the protagonist as well. i think showing Hythloday's entrance into Utopia and his eventual return to normal society could be fraught with dramatic conflict and cultural commentary. And i think you are right, the concept of character is soo important to the stage and would have to be developed somehow to transform the philosophical text of Utopia into a play.
I think Utopia staged would simply be... boring. After the first few minutes, you would have seen anything. Like you, I think the concept is a pretty strong one (and it has been used in various situations, like in the book, "the Giver," for example), but it would need to focus on a more personable factor - a character, emotions, situations... Using Raphael as the protagonist would be a good way to make it a more interesting act, if only because he's not a native. Seeing the world from his point of view, watching the circumstances he falls into, and the general culture shock would be interesting. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteIt is my belief as well that "Utopia" would be completely boring if it was performed as it is written. More's idea was clearly not to make it into a play as there is way too much description of the "Utopia" and not enough description of character. A protagonist is needed and I believe that either Raphael or More could take that role. Comparing a play version of "Utopia" to "Our Town" is an interesting idea. One thing "Our Town" did which was interesting was when the narrator breaks the "4th wall" of the stage and starts to speak to the audience. The character More would be perfect in this role as it would bring some clarity to a confusing subject matter such as "Utopia". I also agree with you that another new plot twist would need to be added to the theatrical version to create the tension needed for a successful play.
ReplyDeleteI like how you offered ideas about how to transform "Utopia" into something that could be performed on stage. I also did my rumination on this topic but took it in a totally different direction. I apprecitate that you not only explained all of the reasons why it would not work as a screenplay, but also offered suggestions as to how it could word potentially.
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