Forensics in the Theatre: an Analysis of the Use of Forensic Illusions in All My Sons (Al Mijn Zonen) and How Did I Die

Abstract

In this analysis, I will discuss and compare the construction of truth in the performances How Did I Die and All My Sons (Al Mijn Zonen), respectively by Davy Pieters and a coproduction between De Toneelschuur and Theater Amsterdam. I will be answering the research question “How are spectators of the performances All My Sons and How Did I Die invited to take on a forensic perspective?”. For this, I am using In order to argue how the ‘truth’ is constructed, I will most notably use a book by James Frieze, titled Theatre and the Forensic Turn. In this book, Frieze argues there are three illusions at work when regarding the forensic, or forensic sciences. Namely, the illusions of interiority, solvability, and transparency. All of these illusions are connected, in the sense that they all refer to the idea that there is one truth that can be found, or dug up, by the right people with the right skills. Once this truth is found it is clear and singular. These illusions are also used in mass media to stimulate consumption of them, such as television programs as Crime Scene Investigation, in which the mystery is solved by the professionals, just for another mystery to show up. Other theory that I will use includes the concepts of discrepant awareness, focalization, and reconstruction, to analyse how a forensic perspective can be invited in the spectator. I will argue that the construction of truth in All My Sons follows the first principle of the three illusions, while How Did I Die, inspired by mass media, follows a consumptive pattern, in the sense that the promise to solve the crime is never fulfilled. This difference between these functions could be derived from the context in which these performances were made. While All My Sons was made shortly after the Second World War, How Did I Die was made in 2014, it was therefore made in a later stage of capitalism, which is reflected in the way the performances engage with their audience.