Performativity and the Construction of Children’s Citizenship in Backa Theatre’s Staging of Lille Kung Mattias (2009/2010)
Abstract
The aim of this article is to investigate and explain how
performativity, as defined by J.L. Austin and Judith Butler,
can be viewed as an important element within the narrative
framework of Lille Kung Mattias (Little King Mattias), as
performed by Backa Theatre in Gothenburg, Sweden, during
the 2009-2010 season. Lille Kung Mattias, directed by Mattias
Andersson, is based on the novel Król Macius´ Pierwszy (1923)
by Polish author Janusz Korczak, and has been performed for
children aged 11 upwards. I explore how class, age and gender
are »made« (and also fail to be made) performatively, and show
how being a king is revealed as a performative act precisely
then, when Mattias receives all the attire and the title but
doesn’t move or talk like an adult king. Thus he fails to fulfil
expectations. But thereafter, in terms that Butler uses, Mattias
pushes the borders of what a king can be and do by iteratively
»making« a new kind of king. In the end, the audience also
change their behaviour by becoming an active part of the
performance.
Publisher
LIR. journal
Other description
Sandra Grehn is a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature
at the University of Gothenburg. Her research interests are
theatre for children and young people, intersectional studies
and women playwrights during the end of the19th century.
Collections
View/ Open
Date
2017Author
Grehn, Sandra
Keywords
Backa Theatre
Lille Kung Mattias
performativity
Janusz Korczak
Publication type
article, peer reviewed scientific
Language
eng