Irrupting the Real in intermedial performance

[Texte disponible uniquement en anglais] This is a lecture that summarises research done towards my recent MADA in theatre directing. Hans Lehmann describes seven postdramatic (or postmodern) directing strategies. I have zoomed in on one which he calls 'Irrupting the Real'. This is a process whereby the artist makes use of various mediums to juxtapose realities and so draw attention to their simultaneous existence and their contradictions. My study looks at how one can implement 'Irruption of the Real' by incorporating various forms of video into theatrical events. More specifically, I will give an account of my practical research in which I re-created a live television show in the theatre and used clips from contradicting current news and social media in order to address the political tensions in present day South Africa.