No sooner said than done: Notes on verbal and non-verbal information in contemporary dramatic writing.

Abstract

This article summarizes a longer essay—originally submitted as a thesis for the Master of Arts in Creative Writing at the University of New South Wales—that examines the relationship between verbal and non-verbal information in contemporary playwriting. Drawing on Lehmann’s theory of postdramatic theatre as well as theoretical insights from Manfred Pfister, I investigate various configurations of information conveyed through characters' verbal discourse and their physical actions. The way these variables interrelate defines the connection between stage and text. In the essay, I argue that the verbal and the non-verbal constitute the two poles of the spectrum of possibilities for theatrical texts; the predominance of one type of information over the other determines the playwright's presence in the staging. Through examples drawn from *Old Times*, I explore how Pinter widens the gap between the verbal and the non-verbal, using his extensive aesthetic knowledge to confront the literary nature of playwriting.