b'II, allowing us to infer that the play had a sub- An Abstract, yet Human Theatre: The Body in Stage Works by stantial influence on the social discourse amongst theatregoers. First performed at Lincolns InnVsevolod Meyerhold and Oskar SchlemmerFields, a small theatre with two performance spaces that allowed for an audience to maintainGrace Cliffordan intimacy with the players which was central to Restoration theatre (Bailey, np), the perfor- Grace Clifford discusses the relationship between body and design in performances directed by Russian theatre director, Vsevo-mance space appears to have been ideally suitedlod Meyerhold and German Bauhaus master, Oskar Schlemmer.to the play. Indeed, as Hackenbracht states, Am-boyna was designed to create a sense of nationalThis essay will compare the way that the body isrefine their awareness and responsiveness to other community, as the English actors and spectatorsused by Meyerhold and Schlemmer in relationperformers in performance (Whitehead 2019:17). experience the atrocities of the Dutch togetherto ideas of design, drawing on gestalt theory, inGerald Raunig (2008:4) emphasises the focus of (Hackenbracht, 498), and thus the smaller spacewhich design is understood as the organisation ofbiomechanics on rhythm, both of language and of was perfect for achieving this aim and reinforcingform in art (Turner 2015:116-119). On the surface,physical movement, and how it was this external the message of the anti-Dutch political propagan- both practitioners approach design from polarstimulus of movement that influenced the plot da in a stronger manner.points, with Meyerhold rejecting tediously prettyof constructivist productions rather than internal patterns and colours giving space to real mate- narratives. This has been lost from view, due to The direct effect of these theatrical pieces con- rials, aiming to reflect modern industrial societythe way Meyerholds practice is now understood taining anti-European propaganda upon the polit- and urban space, and Schlemmer, with originsin a 21st century context, where it is difficult ical realm is difficult to determine and would notin art and design, promoting visual art, textileto recreate the fascination with physicality and have been extreme enough to observe in the studyand painting in performance (Braun 1995:165).willed absence of words that is central to these of political trends; however, the influence of the- However, through a deeper analysis of the liv- early productions. Schlemmers technique, on atre upon attitudes would have led to a change ining context in which both theatre practitionersthe other hand, makes it more difficult to isolate the social atmosphere of Restoration society. Bothworked, we can see how Meyerhold moved to- thought surrounding bodily movement, as it was Dryden and Behn as influential playwrights withwards synthesised performance and Schlemmer,so deeply connected to the design process of his political links had a useful platform to encouragetaking influence from cubism, found a growingperformance; enjoyment and creativity surround-anti-European sentiments within their audiences,interest in the human figure and the mathemat- ing movement evolved from enjoyment surround-and their plays produced in the early 1670s eachics or geometry of the structure of human form,ing design (Schlemmer 1926:196). He understood demonstrate these influences. making their practices more comparable (Birrin- the human body as a perfection of shape that ger 2013:42). Although the body is used differ- constantly changes and transforms itself through ently by both practitionersConstructivist ideasthe joints and swivels of its daily motion yet of the body centre around function, utility andhis choreography rarely relied on these organic in Meyerholds case, acts of deconstruction andmovements of human form and instead explored reconstruction whereas the Bauhaus artists usedthe abstract geometry of objects and materials, in the human form to test, question and grounda sense neutralising bodily materiality (Birringer high-flown theoretical ideas of designthere are2013:44). There is an interesting balance created similarities in the way that the body influencesbetween giving the body ultimate power, yet strip-Behn, Aphra. The Dutch Lover, 1673 and is influenced by the holistic design of theping it of its identity and individuality, and use piece (Barbieri 2017:157). I think, for both prac- as a stimulus. The body is seen as tool, especially Dryden, John. Amboyna, or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the Englishtitioners it is nave to separate the human formwhen you look at Schlemmers work of chore-Merchants, 1673. from design and the creation of performance andographing with costume materials and abstract Hackenbracht, Ryan. Marvell, Dryden, and Commercial Fishingagree with Schlemmer that the history of thenon-mimetic, non-narrative actionthe body is Propaganda during the Anglo-Dutch Wars, SEL Studies in Englishtheatre is the history of the transfiguration of thethere to actualise the choreography, movements Literature 1500-1900, Volume 59, Number 3, Johns Hop- human form (Schlemmer et al, 1971:17). and emotions seen in inanimate objects rather kins UP, 2019 . than the starting point itself (Birringer 2013:45). Hayden, Judy A. The Rake, The Whore, and The Third Dutch WarBefore looking at how the body was used in rela- This in turn almost gives the body new space to in The Dutch Lover, from Of Love and War, Brill, 2010. tion to design by Meyerhold and Schlemmer, itbe its own entity and contribute to the other de-is important to understand how each practitionersign elements of performance. Stephenson, Joseph F. Redefining the Dutch: Drydens Appro- interpreted the movement of the body. Key to priation of National Images from Renaissance Drama in Amboyna,Meyerholds work was his study of biomechan- Both Meyerhold and Schlemmer were advocates Restoration: Studies in English Literary Culture, 1660-1700,ics, which focused on the structure, function,for costumes being seen as a significant part of Volume 38, Number 2, Tennessee UP, 2014 . and movement of the human form, helping thethe performance. Costumes were no longer an ex-actor to release their emotional potential andtra step in character portrayal, supplementing the 56 57'