“Sıradaki Ne Olacak?”: Edward Bond’un Eleven Vests/On Bir Atlet Oyununda ‘Dramatik Çocuk’un Yolculuğu

Abstract

In this study, the concept of 'Dramatic Child' will be examined within the framework of the play, Eleven Vests written by Edward Bond, one of the prominent playwrights of post-war British theatre. The concept put forward by the playwright comes to the fore as a process that reveals the conflicts experienced by children as individuals in society − structured by adults − with their environment. The process, which is fictionalized through the main character's (Student) experiences during his training at school and in the army, scrutinizes the situations in which children are isolated, marginalized, and eventually become perpetrators/victims of violence in today's world which does not allow them to realize themselves. Reflecting the insensitive and hypocritical attitudes of adults, the playwright criticizes the social order which converts children into passive individuals and thus makes them part of an order dominated by unilateral consensus.Even though adults fail to fulfill their responsibilities, the playwright avoids presenting a hopeless message for the future. At the end of the play, Student, now an adult, reflects the need to create a new language of his own and order in which the meaning of humanity can be sustained. In this study, it is aimed to analyze this creation process within the framework of 'Dramatic Child' conceptualized by the playwright.