Tales from the Underground
“The art of the grotesque is based on the struggle between content and form. The grotesque deepens daily life until it ceases to represent only that which is usual." (Barba, 1991, p.156).
"Compared with live theatre, the greater analysability of the performance portrayed cinematically is due to a higher degree of isolatability." (Benjamin, 2009, p.251).
"Actors tiredness is not caused by an excess of vitality, by the use of huge movements, but by the play of oppositions. The body becomes charged with energy because within it is established a series of differences of potential which render the body alive, strongly present, even with slow movements or in apparent immobility… Energy does not necessarily correspond to movement in the space.” (Barba, 1991, p.13).
Revealing the grotesque
We know that the strength and the power of life are located there... The attitude (posture) of the cross [spine] when the solar plexus is exposed, is an attitude of questioning, inviting, it's a challenge, readiness, and the beginning and end of action." (Staniewski in Hodge, p.276).
