Authoring War Memories: War Memoir Writing and Testimonial Theatre Performances

Abstract

This paper will discuss aspects concerning authorship, memory, and war representation, as well as trauma and healing. In order to do so, I will explore the writing of war memoirs and/or the re-enactment of war experiences on the stage as two ways of expressing and coping with war trauma. In both cases, the concept of the author, a war veteran as first-person narrator or self-performer, is central to the representation of the traumatic memories of war. It is precisely through this interaction between the author, as a legitimate witness, and source of authentic and reliable information, that the readership/audience connects emotionally with the experience of the combatants and can empathise with their situation. A theoretical conceptualisation of war memoir writing, and testimonial theatre will be illustrated with specific examples of texts connected with the Falklands War (UK-Argentina, 1982). The dominant perspective of the reflection are veterans’ stories.