Live Like Pigs: relationships between performers and audience

Section: Directing Audience Perception

In Live Like Pigs, the playwright skillfully manipulates audience perception to generate empathy for the Carter family’s struggles even though they may not be the ideal, law-abiding citizens.
The audience is forced to continually reassess their judgement of the characters as the Carters, living in squalid conditions, challenge traditional ideas of right and wrong and question the ethos of authority figures.

Section: ‘Brushes’ with Characters

John Arden writes characters with raw honesty, aiming to create three-dimensional, flawed and relatable individuals. This gives the performers an opportunity to pull the audience into their world.
The portraying actors thus have a critical job in creating a bond with the audience through their compelling performances. They need to capture the down-to-earth essence of the Carters, thus ensuring the audience roots for them.

Section: Distant Characters, Close Experiences

The socioeconomic gap separating the audience from the characters in Live Like Pigs works to intensify the connection as the audience delves into the lives of individuals they might usually disregard or stereotype.
The performers need to present this uncensored version of reality to the viewers, thereby creating a bond based on shared human experience, even in the context of wide class differences.

Section: Emotional Investment as Interaction

The audience’s emotional involvement in Live Like Pigs is a form of interaction in itself. Through his characters, Arden makes the audience acutely feel the brutality of class struggle and development-induced displacement.
This interaction is further heightened through scenes of dramatic tension and conflict that require the performers to deliver raw, gripping performances that leave a lasting impact on the audience.

Section: Audience’s Role in the Resolution

Arden does not spoon-feed the audience a ‘happy ending’. Instead, the grim climax places the onus of hope and resolution on the audience, thus underlining their participatory role in the drama.
This approach requires nuanced acting from the performers who must depict the harsh reality without demoralising the audience, instead sparking thought and initiating dialogue on social issues. Thus, the relationship between performers and audience extends beyond the stage and into the realm of social discourse.