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“Breath” by Samuel Beckett
CURTAIN up
1. Faint light on stage littered with miscellaneous rubbish. Hold about five seconds.
2. Faint brief cry and immediately inspiration and slow increase of light together reaching maximum - together in about ten seconds. Silence and hold for about five seconds.
3. Expiration and slow decrease of light together reaching minimum together (light as in 1) in about ten seconds and immediately cry as before. Silence and hold about five seconds.
CURTAIN Down
Yes. Don’t be surprise this is whole play of 32 seconds. Yes only 32 seconds. When I first watched it I was like, that’s it? Play over? It is funny but I was thinking that what it feels like when you buy a ticket for watching a play and to relax your self for 2 to 3 hours and play ends in just half minute. Jaws down and may be anger also that what is this? Let it be very clear, some artist create their art for art sake and some create it for life sake. Some work of art are meant to be understood and not to just entertain. This play is for understanding by taking help of existentialism and absurd.
“Breath” is a play by Samuel Beckett. This play was first performed in 1969. There are many versions available for this play and all have something to do different than others. The play is highly absurd. There is no human and nothing happens, no dialogues, we only hear cry, sound of breath and only see garbage on the floor. Absurd play mainly have existentialism as a theme, which this play also has. What is existentialism? It has it's own definition but I want to say that existentialism is an idea which makes you realize that life doesn’t have any meanings but then even to keep living life happily and with freedom of choice. It simply suggest to enjoy the meaninglessness. Through this perspective I am here trying to interpret the play.
Starting and ending is typical with curtain up and down and we can take it as symbol of birth and death of every human which is similar to all. Then there is a miscellaneous rubbish all on the floor. This we may can interpret as our life, that same as this rubbish our life also don’t as any meaning. Or we can interpret it as that by our choices we make our life like garbage, meaningless and purposeless. Increase and decrease of light we may can interpret as ups and downs, which we feel during our life span or we also can interpret it as hope. The cycle of finding and loosing hope. The hold we can interpret as wait, which Samuel Beckett’s another absurd play “Waiting For Godot” also represents. Every time wait for something and at end wait for the death. Breath, we may can take as our existence and holding it in-between we may can take it as a thought or trying of committing suicide and when again exhaling of breath may can take as failed suicide attempt and still living.
Further more in the rubbish on the floor we can find the hospital garbage. Hospital in which we take birth and may be our death might can come in hospital, we can interpret it as that the first and the last moment of life is also lying with garbage. We can find computer also in garbage, again our technology, on which we are very proud is same as garbage. We can find Swastika also in rubbish, which indicates that with technology and rationality our spirituality is also in lying in garbage. In a way by all these things we can come to know that every thing which we think as something great in our life doesn’t has any meaning. Every thing in life is absurd.
There is modern interpretation of this play in which many things are changed. It is longer than the script and also includes the things which are not in the script like humans, nature and song. In original play nothing moves just a voice of breathing but in this modern play the picture is moving. One thing is remain same the voice of breath. In this modern play also whole life of person is shown from childhood to the adulthood or may be death. Where everything is on the floor like garbage. No meaning pf anything whatever has done through out the life. Every thing is meaningless. There is one song also included the name of the song is “Koyaanisqatsi”. The song is by Philip Glass, it is from movie with the same name as song which is directed by Godfrey Reggio. This word “Koyaanisqatsi” in Hopi language it means unbalanced life. Which we can interpret as the uncertainty of life. By all these changes also the essence remain as it is, existentialism.
Thank you.
“Breath” by Samuel Beckett
CURTAIN up
1. Faint light on stage littered with miscellaneous rubbish. Hold about five seconds.
2. Faint brief cry and immediately inspiration and slow increase of light together reaching maximum - together in about ten seconds. Silence and hold for about five seconds.
3. Expiration and slow decrease of light together reaching minimum together (light as in 1) in about ten seconds and immediately cry as before. Silence and hold about five seconds.
CURTAIN Down
Yes. Don’t be surprise this is whole play of 32 seconds. Yes only 32 seconds. When I first watched it I was like, that’s it? Play over? It is funny but I was thinking that what it feels like when you buy a ticket for watching a play and to relax your self for 2 to 3 hours and play ends in just half minute. Jaws down and may be anger also that what is this? Let it be very clear, some artist create their art for art sake and some create it for life sake. Some work of art are meant to be understood and not to just entertain. This play is for understanding by taking help of existentialism and absurd.
“Breath” is a play by Samuel Beckett. This play was first performed in 1969. There are many versions available for this play and all have something to do different than others. The play is highly absurd. There is no human and nothing happens, no dialogues, we only hear cry, sound of breath and only see garbage on the floor. Absurd play mainly have existentialism as a theme, which this play also has. What is existentialism? It has it's own definition but I want to say that existentialism is an idea which makes you realize that life doesn’t have any meanings but then even to keep living life happily and with freedom of choice. It simply suggest to enjoy the meaninglessness. Through this perspective I am here trying to interpret the play.
Starting and ending is typical with curtain up and down and we can take it as symbol of birth and death of every human which is similar to all. Then there is a miscellaneous rubbish all on the floor. This we may can interpret as our life, that same as this rubbish our life also don’t as any meaning. Or we can interpret it as that by our choices we make our life like garbage, meaningless and purposeless. Increase and decrease of light we may can interpret as ups and downs, which we feel during our life span or we also can interpret it as hope. The cycle of finding and loosing hope. The hold we can interpret as wait, which Samuel Beckett’s another absurd play “Waiting For Godot” also represents. Every time wait for something and at end wait for the death. Breath, we may can take as our existence and holding it in-between we may can take it as a thought or trying of committing suicide and when again exhaling of breath may can take as failed suicide attempt and still living.
Further more in the rubbish on the floor we can find the hospital garbage. Hospital in which we take birth and may be our death might can come in hospital, we can interpret it as that the first and the last moment of life is also lying with garbage. We can find computer also in garbage, again our technology, on which we are very proud is same as garbage. We can find Swastika also in rubbish, which indicates that with technology and rationality our spirituality is also in lying in garbage. In a way by all these things we can come to know that every thing which we think as something great in our life doesn’t has any meaning. Every thing in life is absurd.
There is modern interpretation of this play in which many things are changed. It is longer than the script and also includes the things which are not in the script like humans, nature and song. In original play nothing moves just a voice of breathing but in this modern play the picture is moving. One thing is remain same the voice of breath. In this modern play also whole life of person is shown from childhood to the adulthood or may be death. Where everything is on the floor like garbage. No meaning pf anything whatever has done through out the life. Every thing is meaningless. There is one song also included the name of the song is “Koyaanisqatsi”. The song is by Philip Glass, it is from movie with the same name as song which is directed by Godfrey Reggio. This word “Koyaanisqatsi” in Hopi language it means unbalanced life. Which we can interpret as the uncertainty of life. By all these changes also the essence remain as it is, existentialism.
Thank you.
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