Martin Crimp – Attempts on her life

Upon picking up this play and turning to the first page, the alarm bells in my mind went off like a klaxon when I read the words “…this first scene may be cut out…” Sorry to be presumptuous, M. Crimp…but surely this either means that the first scene is entirely superfluous, or you don’t trust the independence of any director who has picked up your work. In my opinion, both are as bad as one another. I found the aforementioned words doubly irritating when I progressed to reading the first scene, and was instantly reeled in hook, line and sinker.

Possibly one of the most unusual but intriguing methods that this writer used was the lack of character names. Within the text, there is a hyphen present each time the speech moves over to another character, but there are no designations. Is the speech between two characters or five? What are their genders and ages? Whilst admittedly a little disgruntling at first, after reading the first couple of parts, that suddenly didn’t matter anymore. It allowed me as a reader to think of the characters in terms of their speeches, not in terms of what the director had thrust upon me. To be honest it was very refreshing, and I can certainly admire the flexibility which this technique may afford to any director who wishes to adapt this piece.

You also never see the main characters. Or rather, the people whom the narrators are talking about (for it seems that the dialogue and speeches are pieces of narration instead of traditional character-interaction) doesn’t have any talking parts. Despite this, I could quite easily imagine their actions on the stage as though I was reading stage directions for them (which, by the way, there weren’t any of). The dialogue between the narrators is chilling, and very vivid. It’s very, very difficult to not be drawn in, despite the fragmented nature of the play. I’d personally say that this would be a rather interesting text to sit down and analyse properly, segment by segment. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to do that myself, and it wouldn’t really be appropriate for a review here on Inspired-Quill…but I must admit I’m tempted to get that book back and have a closer look at it.

This play is written in seventeen segments. Although there is indeed a certain amount of cohesion within the story, at first these parts seem to be utterly fragmented. ‘Attempts on her life’ is certainly not something that you might wish to read when you’re tired or unable to concentrate properly. The relatively small segments allow for pauses in between reading, making it, in this sense, more accessible to those who perhaps would enjoy reading it but don’t have a spare hour or three to sit down and devour something in one go.

I think as long as the reader is able to actually engage and work properly with the text in order to generate meaning and cohesion between the characters and segments, it’s a thoroughly rewarding piece of literature. It’s certainly one of the best plays that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading…and that’s including my beloved ‘Dragonsong’ play.

If you are someone who enjoys reading this medium of literature, and you’re not afraid to take a step away from the more classical Senecan plays…then buy the book and add it to your permanent collection.

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