Polyglossia as a Postdramatic Strategy in Contemporary German Theatre: A Study of Gob Squad's Multilingual Approach

Abstract

In Germany, multiple language use is frequently encountered in daily life. This trend extends to the theatre that is being created in this environment. Contemporary German theatre is well established as a multicultural and multilingual experience; in its postdramatic manifestation it is exemplified by the Berlin-based German-English performance group Gob Squad, for whom polyglossia is a key performance strategy. Although polyglossia and linguistic code-switching have become prominent features of postdramatic performances in Germany, there is still a gap in scholarship investigating these aspects. The current study draws on postdramatic theatre theory and sociolinguistic theories of code-switching as well as on the author’s fieldwork to explore the nature of linguistic mixing and its dramaturgical effects in Gob Squad’s work. Fieldwork building on the survey of theoretical work has consisted of attendance at numerous theatrical performances by Gob Squad (and by a range of other groups), and also discussion with the group’s members of the principles (Rules, Rhythm, Risk and Reality) that underpin Gob Squad’s performances. Much of Gob Squad’s work is unscripted: performances depend on passers-by and audience response, making each performance unique in time and place. The specific conditions that determine what language the performers speak are examined, against the background of linguistic theory, in a detailed case study of a recorded live performance of Gob Squad’s production of René Pollesch’s Prater Saga 3: In diesem Kiez ist der Teufel eine Goldmine [In this Neighbourhood the Devil is a Goldmine] on 18 May 2006 at Prater der Volksbühne, Berlin. Code-switches encompassing switches between languages and switches between registers are shown to enhance dramaturgical effects significantly. The examination of the significance of each code-switch in a close reading of Gob Squad’s performance of Prater Saga 3 demonstrates that a command of multiple languages, as well as a ludic attitude to language generally, opens a production to many stylistic, cultural and linguistic opportunities. Interweaving English with German is shown to be a successful strategy for German groups performing in multicultural settings in Germany, and the creative impulses generated by the use of more broadly ranging multilingualism are likely to ensure that linguistic mixing will continue to be a defining element of contemporary German theatre.