The Camp (1967 play)

Last updated
Angelique Rockas as Emma In The Camp by Internationalist Theatre London 1981 Angelique Rockas as Emma.jpg
Angelique Rockas as Emma In The Camp by Internationalist Theatre London 1981

This article is about William Oliver's English translation of Griselda Gambaro's play El Campo. [1] A full article has not yet been written about the original text.

Contents

The Camp is a Latin American play written by Argentinian playwright and prize-winning novelist, Griselda Gambaro. Originally titled El Campo, the play opened in Buenos Aires in 1967 and since then has been translated into Portuguese, English, French, and Italian. [2] It takes place in a modern Argentine Neo-Nazi [3] concentration camp and reflects upon a time when, although World War II had ended, Argentina was still very invested in fascist and militaristic ideals. Often misinterpreted as belonging to the Theatre of the Absurd, [4] The Camp is actually a part of el grotesco criollo, [3] an Argentine theatre genre closely related to black comedy.

Characters

Plot

Act One

Scene One

Young and attractive Martin shows up at an unidentified corporation and is told by a servant that Frank will soon be joining him to discuss his new occupation. Frank then appears in a Gestapo uniform [5] and states that the only reason he is wearing it is because he enjoys it and he is not harming anyone. However, it is later revealed that he is being told to and that this is indeed a corporation led by many people. Frank and Martin discuss the political and social climate of the world while voices of children are heard below the window of the room. The papers that Frank gives Martin to sort through are actually piles of children's homework assignments. Frank also hears the peasants singing below the window throughout the scene and says that they always are marching when they sing that song. However, every time Frank mentions that people are below the window, Martin does not see anyone. Martin begins to get very confused as to where he is.

Scene Two

Martin has been at the corporation or camp for a while now, and he insists that he go take a walk. Frank does not allow Martin to leave for he wishes him to meet his only friend in the world, Emma. Emma acts as though she is a diva however she appears as if she just escaped from a concentration camp. She wears a prison smock of rough gray cloth, her head is completely shaved, she scratches herself all over her body, but she states that she is not itchy at all and she believes that she is indeed wearing a ball gown. Martin realizes that she has a number tattooed on her arm and is certain that she escaped from a camp, [6] and asks her certain things about her past, but Emma refuses to answer his questions. Emma tries to seduce Martin on several occasions and becomes confused when Martin does not give in, as Emma has been told that he is an admirer. Martin says that he wants to leave but Emma insists that he stay to attend her upcoming piano concert. Frank takes out a whip and whips the floor, provoking Emma and triggering upset emotions. Frank has a misogynistic hold over Emma and her emotions. [7] Martin is perplexed by this establishment.

Scene Three

The night of Emma's concert. Emma's piano tuner takes a long time tuning the piano and Frank gets frustrated–this leaves the piano broken and the piano does not make any sound when Emma begins to play. The concert is run by Gestapo officers and the audience is filled with prisoners dressed as though they are in a concentration camp. Frank mentions that he takes very good care of Emma and that she is up to date with all of her vaccinations. Martin shouts out a few times during the concert and is physically punished by the Gestapo officers. They scratch his face until it bleeds [8] and force him back onto the bench when he stands up. As Emma's stagefright rises, Frank gets more frustrated and tells her that the show must go on. The piano does not make noise but Emma sings the notes of the piano and the crowd goes wild. She throws flowers at the audience and the concert ends. Once again, Frank pressures Emma and Martin into being intimate with one another and warns Martin that, should he disobey, he will lose his job. Frank also makes a remark that there is an odor in the air which means the children are burning the dead dogs again. Frank and Emma then tell Martin that they indeed were playing a prank on him and that Emma chooses to shave her head, does not have an itch, and enjoyed the joke very much. The act ends on Frank pressuring Martin into saying he also had fun and Emma falling to the floor in a fit of uncontrollable scratching.

Act Two

Scene One

Emma and Martin are performing duties and, although it is not revealed exactly why they are doing these tasks, Emma does say that "they left us here to work." Martin is writing on a tablet and Emma is embroidering on a large frame. Martin triggers Emma's memory of the "showers" and she quickly reverts to another topic: hunting. She mentions that Frank is out hunting foxes and that he should be back soon. Despite how many times Martin has introduced himself to her, Emma still cannot remember his name. Frank sends Emma outside to grab whatever she'd like from the dead foxes. Frank confesses to Martin that Emma has always been able to leave and that he cannot handle her behavior any longer. He begs Martin to take Emma away from him and, after being paid for his work, Martin quits his job and leaves with Emma.

Scene Two

Emma and Martin enter his family home and Martin realizes that something has changed. Neither his younger brothers nor parents are home and the entire place does not feel familiar to him. Screams of pain and noises of children playing are heard from outside the house, but Martin and Emma choose to ignore it. Martin is perplexed why his family is not home but just figures they went outside to play. Emma says she cannot stay in the house and demands to be placed in a hotel. She also looks through her suitcase and pulls out the only outfit her supposed secretary packed for her: a "red ball gown" (a prison smock just like the one she is wearing). Just then, an Official walks in and rubs his palms together with a sense of satisfaction, commenting that the door was open. Martin asks him to leave but the official demands that Martin be immunized. Three burly male nurses enter the house with a metal bed and branding instruments. Emma runs to the corner and while sobbing tells Martin that "in order to know who we are, a little mark…" but is cut off as the three male nurses sedate Martin with an injection. The Official then comes over with a hot branding iron as the lights go out on Emma's groans.

Productions

Historical Context

Gambaro's work calls upon the Nazi regime and European ideals of fascism. This is because Argentine militaries were trained by German armies in the early 20th century and long after fascist ideals left Europe they found a home in certain quarters of Argentina. Long after World War II, fascist ideals and concentration camps were still very much a part of life for those living in Argentina. The Camp mostly revolves around the political violence and the effects of torture on innocent people who allow themselves to be victims of political torture.

The Camp was written just after a massive military coup in 1966 and refers to the dictatorships that ruled Argentina. Gambaro's plays, including The Camp, discuss the violent and brutal political regime of Isabel Péron which eventually led to the Dirty War led by General Jorge Rafael Videla–a time when 30,000 Argentinians were murdered by the government.

Additionally, the character of Frank's name was originally Franco in Gambaro's text and is reminiscent of late Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Emma</i> (novel) 1815 novel by Jane Austen

Emma is a novel about youthful hubris and romantic misunderstandings, written by Jane Austen. It is set in the fictional country village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls and Donwell Abbey, and involves the relationships among people from a small number of families. The novel was first published in December 1815, with its title page listing a publication date of 1816. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency England. Emma is a comedy of manners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabrielle Weidner</span>

Gabrielle Weidner was a Dutch resistance fighter playing an active role in the French Resistance during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg Elser</span> Attempted assassin of Adolf Hitler

Johann Georg Elser was a German worker who planned and carried out an elaborate assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi leaders on 8 November 1939 at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich. Elser constructed and placed a bomb near the platform from which Hitler was to deliver a speech. It did not kill Hitler, who left earlier than expected, but it did kill 8 people and injured 62 others. Elser was held as a prisoner for more than five years until he was executed at the Dachau concentration camp less than a month before the surrender of Nazi Germany.

<i>Bent</i> (play) Play by Martin Sherman

Bent is a 1979 play by Martin Sherman. It revolves around the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, and takes place during and after the Night of the Long Knives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonia Olschanezky</span> French Resistance member

Sonia Olschanezky was a member of the French Resistance and the Special Operations Executive during World War II. Olschanezky was a member of the SOE's Juggler circuit in occupied France where she operated as a courier until she was arrested by the Gestapo and was subsequently executed at the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp.

<i>Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS</i> 1975 exploitation film by Don Edmonds

Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS is a 1975 Canadian exploitation film about a sadistic and sexually voracious Nazi prison camp commandant. The film is directed by American filmmaker Don Edmonds and produced by David F. Friedman for Cinépix Film Properties in Montreal. The film stars Dyanne Thorne in the titular role, who is loosely based on Ilse Koch, the wife of a real-life commandant at the Buchenwald concentration camp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olga Benário Prestes</span> German Brazilian Communist militant

Olga Benário Prestes was a German-Brazilian communist militant executed by Nazi Germany.

Zuzana Růžičková was a Czech harpsichordist. An interpreter of classical and baroque music, Růžičková was the first harpsichordist to record Johann Sebastian Bach's complete works for keyboard, in recordings made in the 1960s and 1970s for Erato Records.

<i>Jekyll & Hyde</i> (musical) Musical

Jekyll & Hyde is a 1990 musical loosely based on the 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Originally conceived for the stage by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden, it features music by Frank Wildhorn, a book by Leslie Bricusse and lyrics by all of them. After a world premiere run in Houston, Texas, the musical embarked on a national tour of the United States prior to its Broadway debut in 1997. Many international productions in various languages have since been staged including two subsequent North American tours, two tours in the United Kingdom, a concert version, a revamped US tour in 2012, a 2013 Broadway revival featuring Constantine Maroulis, and an Australian concert version in 2019 starring Anthony Warlow.

<i>The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank</i> 1988 television film

The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank is a 1988 television film directed by John Erman. It is based on Miep Gies's 1988 book Anne Frank Remembered. The film was broadcast as part of an ad hoc network, Kraft Golden Showcase Network. Playwright William Hanley received an Emmy for his script.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazi exploitation</span> Subgenre of film

Nazi exploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film and sexploitation film that involves Nazis committing sex crimes, often as camp or prison overseers during World War II. Most follow the women in prison formula, only relocated to a concentration camp, extermination camp, or Nazi brothel, and with an added emphasis on sadism, gore, and degradation. The most infamous and influential title is a Canadian production, Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1974). Its surprise success and that of Salon Kitty and The Night Porter led European filmmakers, mostly in Italy, to produce similar films, with just over a dozen being released over the next few years. Globally exported to both cinema and VHS, the films were critically attacked and heavily censored, and the sub-genre all but vanished by the end of the seventies.

Robert T. Odeman was a gay German classical pianist, actor, writer, and composer who was persecuted by the Nazi regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilse Stanley</span> German-American writer

Ilse (Intrator) Stanley, , was a German Jewish woman who, with the collusion of a handful of people ranging from Nazi members of the Gestapo to other Jewish civilians, secured the release of 412 Jewish prisoners from Nazi concentration camps between 1936 and 1938.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilhelm Heckmann</span> German musician

Wilhelm Heckmann was a German concert and easy listening musician. From 1937 to 1945 he was imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps in Dachau and Mauthausen. Heckmann founded the first prisoner band in Mauthausen, and was also instrumental in the founding of the large prisoner orchestra there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griselda Gambaro</span> Argentine writer (born 1928)

Griselda Gambaro is an Argentine writer, whose novels, plays, short stories, story tales, essays and novels for teenagers often concern the political violence in her home country that would develop into the Dirty War. One recurring theme is the desaparecidos and the attempts to recover their bodies and memorialize them. Her novel Ganarse la muerte was banned by the government because of the obvious political message.

The Passenger is a 1968 opera by Mieczysław Weinberg to a Russian libretto by Alexander Medvedev. Medvedev's libretto is based on the 1959 Polish radio play Pasażerka z kabiny 45 by concentration-camp survivor Zofia Posmysz. The opera, scheduled for the Bolshoi Theatre in 1968, was not premiered until 2006, when musicians of the Stanislavsky Theatre presented a semi-staging conducted by Wolf Gorelik in the Svetlanov Hall of the Moscow International House of Music on 25 December. Medvedev's libretto was reworked in 2010 for the first staged performance of the opera at the Bregenzer Festspiele into German, English, Polish, Yiddish, French, Russian and Czech. It has then been performed internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre in Argentina</span>

Buenos Aires is one of the world's capitals of theatre. The Teatro Colón is a national landmark for opera and classical performances; built at the end of the 19th century, its acoustics are considered the best in the world, and has undergone a major refurbishment in order to preserve its outstanding sound characteristics, the French-romantic style, the Golden Room, and the museum at the entrance. With its theatre scene of national and international caliber, Corrientes Avenue is synonymous with the art. It is thought of as the street that never sleeps, and sometimes referred to as the Broadway of Buenos Aires. Many careers in acting, music, and film have begun in its many theaters. The Teatro General San Martín is one of the most prestigious, along Corrientes Avenue, and the Teatro Nacional Cervantes functions as the national stage theater of Argentina. The Teatro Argentino de La Plata, El Círculo in Rosario, Independencia in Mendoza, and Libertador in Córdoba are also prominent. Griselda Gambaro, Copi, Roberto Cossa, Marco Denevi, Carlos Gorostiza, Alberto Vaccarezza and Mauricio Kartun are a few of the more prominent Argentine playwrights. Julio Bocca, Jorge Donn, José Neglia, and Norma Fontenla are some of the great ballet dancers of the modern era.

Antígona Furiosa, written in the period of 1985-86 by Griselda Gambaro, is an Argentinian drama heavily influenced by Antigone by Sophocles, and comments on an era of government terrorism that later transformed into the Dirty War of Argentina.Antígona Furiosa was first published 1989 in Griselda Gambaro: Teatro 3 in Buenos Aires, after it stayed many years hidden while Gambaro was in exile in Barcelona. The play premiered September 24, 1986 at the Goethe Institute in Buenos Aires under the direction of Laura Yusem.

Information for Foreigners is a play by Griselda Gambaro written in 1971. It is a promenade style site-specific theatre piece, in which the audience is led on a tour through a large house by a character known as a guide. Gambaro uses the play to discuss the lives of the desaparecidos and to simultaneously explore the nature of theatrical forms and the expectations of an audience.

The Visitor is a 1993 play written by French-Belgian author Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, first published in France. It consists of seventeen acts of varying length. The play is set in Vienna in 1938, when Nazis were beginning to take control of the city (Anschluss). It explores the inner conflicts within Sigmund Freud as this occurs.

References

  1. Taylor, Diana; Townsend, Sarah J., eds. (2008). Stages of Conflict: A Critical Anthology of Latin American Theater and Performance. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. pp. 220–222.
  2. Gambaro, Griselda (1971). Oliver, William I. (ed.). Voices of Change in the Spanish American Theater, An Anthology . Austin: University of Texas Press. pp.  64–65. ISBN   0-292-70123-3.
  3. 1 2 Pottlitzer, Joanne (January 2004). "Griselda Gámbaro's "Theatre of Violence"". PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art. MIT Press. 26 (1): 103–105. doi:10.1162/152028104772625008. JSTOR   3246449. S2CID   57564931.
  4. Esslin, Martin (May 1960). "The Theatre of the Absurd". The Tulane Drama Review. The MIT Press. 4 (4): 3–15. doi:10.2307/1124873. JSTOR   1124873.
  5. Gellately, Robert (December 1996). "Denunciations in Twentieth-Century Germany: Aspects of Self-Policing in the Third Reich and the German Democratic Republic". The Journal of Modern History. The University of Chicago Press. 68 (4, Practices of Denunciation in Modern European History, 1789–1989): 931–967. doi:10.1086/245399. JSTOR   2946725. S2CID   45746604.
  6. Bloch, Herbert A. (January 1947). "The Personality of Inmates of Concentration Camps". American Journal of Sociology. The University of Chicago Press. 52 (4): 335–341. doi:10.1086/220019. JSTOR   2771461. PMID   20277468. S2CID   36820548.
  7. Jorgensen, Beth E. (Winter 1997). "Latin-American Women Writers: Class, Race, and Gender by Myriam Yvonne Jehenson". Hispanic Review. University of Pennsylvania Press. 65 (1): 130–132. doi:10.2307/474847. JSTOR   474847.
  8. MacKenzie, S. P. (September 1994). "The Treatment of Prisoners of War in World War II". The Journal of Modern History. The University of Chicago Press. 66 (3): 487–520. doi:10.1086/244883. JSTOR   2124482. S2CID   143467546.
  9. Holzapfel, Tamara (1970). "Griselda Gambaro's Theatre of the Absurd". Latin American Theatre Review.
  10. "The Camp Context".
  11. BBC Latin American , October 1981 ,Ann Morey page 2 https://archive.org/details/bbclatinamericanreviewelcampopg.2_201912 https://archive.org/details/bbclatinamericanreviewelcampo1
  12. Notes: The Camp Reviews by BBC Mundo, Spare Rib, Morning Star (British newspaper), Vogue México y Latinoamérica, Time Out (magazine) https://archive.org/details/bbclatinamericanreviewelcampo1_202001
  13. Larson, Catherine; Vargas, Margarita, eds. (1998). Latin American Women Dramatists: Theatre, Texts, and Theories . Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp.  4. ISBN   0-253-33461-6.