La “provocación afectiva” en el teatro de Eduardo Pavlovsky

Abstract

“Affective provocation” in Pavlovsky’s theatre

This short study aims at examining Eduardo Pavlovsky’s theatre and the usage of dramatic/comic devices, here denominated affective provocation or aggressiveness. The terminology adopted in this paper owes much to the one suggested by H. Boudin in his study of the French new comic. This paper is intended to demonstrate that the usage of shocking/appalling provocation based on indecorous elements is a recurring theme in Pavlovsky’s works. Functions and instantiations of the distasteful and unpalatable of various kinds are observed in the elements of dramatic structure, such as: space, object, character, and language expression. These elements are arranged in three major classes, in relation with: violation of taboos, the idea of ‘going too far’, and eschatological concepts. Eventually, the way in which these notions permit Pavlovsky to construct an ideological discourse is examined.