Necessary Targets: style

Necessary Targets: Style

Form and Genre

  • Necessary Targets is a dramatic play that primarily employs a realistic style to present its themes and narratives.
  • The play encompasses elements of trauma drama and social realism, thus creating a visceral effect.
  • It also falls under the form of verbatim theatre. Much of the dialogue in the play is derived from Ensler’s interviews with Bosnian women.

Language

  • The play displays a direct and unembellished language style, largely due to its verbatim background.
  • The use of slang terms or colloquial expressions characterises certain characters and differentiates them from others.
  • The language and accents of the characters often denote their cultural background and help to emphasise the cultural differences between the characters.

Dramatic Devices

  • Symbolism and metaphor are frequently employed throughout the play, offering multiple layers of meaning for audiences to engage with.
  • Flashbacks are a significant dramatic device in Necessary Targets, used as a means to explore the female characters’ past experiences.
  • The play also utilises dramatic monologues to reveal their inner torment or past traumas.

Stage Directions and Set Design

  • Detailed stage directions feature throughout Necessary Targets, indicating the specific emotional responses and physical actions of the characters.
  • The original production employed a minimalistic set design, which invites the audience to focus more intently on the characters and their narratives.
  • The setting of a refugee camp allows the audience to imaginatively engage with the realities of the war-torn environment.

Pace and Rhythm

  • The pace of the play varies with the intensity of the drama. Moments of high drama are paced rapidly to increase the tension.
  • Repetition is frequently utilised to create rhythm and emphasise a point or emotion.
  • The juxtaposition of intense traumatic narratives with lighter moments provides a dynamic rhythm to the play.

As you revise Necessary Targets, pay close attention to how the uses of verbatim theatre, realistic style, language, dramatic devices, stage directions and set design, pace and rhythm all contribute to the overall style of the play.