Punk rock de Simon Stephens. Anxietatea și violența în universul adolescentin contemporan

Abstract

The inner universe of the modern man is subjected in the age of globalization to a vast series of pressures that trigger anti-social and self-destructive actions and behaviours . Simon Stephens, born on February 6th 1971 is a british contemporary playwritght that tries to unveil the subtle yet devastating pressures that torment the individual in the age of globalization. „Punk rock” by S. Stephens is a theatre play, written in 2009 which follows the story of a teenager group in Stockport, a small town in the UK, several months before the final exams. One of the main subjects of the play which constantly hangs above it’s characters is „death”. The imminent and invisible threat, the constant fear of dying or life lived without a meaning are matters that weigh heavily upon these young students. Death breaches into their universe through as many channels as possible: the school, the media, the internet and because Stephens’s characters are highly intelligent they look at life through nihilist points of view. The unexpected ending of the play is the moment of the mass shooting. One of the characters, William Carlisle brings a gun to school and shoots three of he’s school colleagues and the tries to commit suicide. In „Punck Rock” Sthepehns creates world in wich danger puts constant pressure on the fragile teenager psyche and tries to force the audience to find out on its own the root of the problem.