Unveiling the past: the multidimensional theatrical space in Suzan-Lori Parks’s Venus

1 Introduction

Suzan-Lori Parks (b. 1963), the first contemporary African American female playwright to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, possesses an acute historical awareness. She skillfully employs a plethora of textual cues, movements, visuals, and sounds within her plays, constructing an imagined realm that prompts readers and audiences to reexamine overlooked or disregarded historical events and contemplate the interpretation of Africana history.

Premiering in 1996, Venus exemplified Parks’s way of creating and rewriting history through the medium of literature. This play, inspired by the real-life figure Saartjie Baartman, dramatizes the tragic destiny of Hottentot Venus, an African woman sold to England, displayed as a freak, and dissected after death. Scholars have analyzed this play from various perspectives, including that of African unwritten history, the experimental “Rep & Rev,” narrative strategies, and Black identity. Undoubtedly, history emerges as a dominant motif in Venus, as Parks challenges established historical notions and unveils the forgotten history of African Americans. However, few studies have explored Parks’s historical consciousness signified by the multidimensional theatrical space in this play. “Theatrical space can have an iconic relation with the historical universe of which it is part and which, in a more or less mediated way, it represents” (Ubersfeld 1999: 104). Ubersfeld also defines theatrical space as “the locus of those (human) activities – a locus that necessarily has a relationship (of mime or distance) with the referential space of the human actants” (Ubersfeld 1999: 94). Thus, it is feasible to frame the discussion of Venus through the lens of the interplay between theatrical space and historical elements. In her essay “Theatre space, theatrical space, and the theatrical space without,” Hanna Scolnicov underscores the pivotal role of theatrical space in drama, asserting that “the theatrical space is, at its best, an expression of the playwright’s philosophical stance […]. It becomes of thematic and structural importance to the play” (Scolnicov 1987: 15). Scolnicov further introduces two crucial terms: “theatrical space without” and “theatrical space within.” Theatrical space within denotes the visible theatrical space that can be perceived, the stage space within the field of vision, the space where actors perform in front of our eyes, while theatrical space without refers to the unseen theatrical space that is predominantly conceptualized, “invisible in actual performance” (Scolnicov 1987: 129). In this study, theatrical space is employed as a critical tool to examine how Parks uses the arrangement of theatrical space within and without to convey historical allusions, reconstruct historical events, and bridge the gaps concealed between remembered and forgotten history in Venus.

2 Historical allusions: the rapid transformation of space

Theatrical space is constructed by means of the words and movements of actors with the aid of props, scenery, lighting, and sounds. Theatrical conventions tend to limit extensive movements in space. Many of the modern and postmodern playwrights, therefore, try to extend theatrical space by not adhering to the unity of space. Spatial transformation becomes one of their approaches to disrupt the unity of space in their works. Similarly, not observing the spatial integrity, Parks frequently changes the settings in Venus and invests each setting with rich historical implications.

In Venus, action moves smoothly from one place to another. The playwright mainly wields the medium of theatrical space within in this play to reconstruct historical periods and resurrect historical figures. She employs the first set in Southern Africa, where Saartjie Baartman was originally a maid in a Dutch businessman’s house. Instead of providing detailed and elaborate information on the setting, Parks briefly writes, “Southern Africa, early 1800s” (Parks 1997: 10). The role of stage directions is supposed to concertize images in the receivers’ minds. However, Roman Ingarden maintains that “each object, person, event, etc., portrayed in the literary work of art contains a great number of places of indeterminacy, especially the descriptions of what happens to people and things” (Ingarden 1973: 50). The reason is the infeasibility for a writer to determine all that is narrated in a story (Toro 1995: 98). Ingarden’s concept of the place of indetermination is where the readers are required to fill in using their imagination, which entails going beyond what the text originally suggests (Ingarden 1973: 52). As a canonical element, the vagueness of the stage directions is a place of indetermination, bringing illusion to readers and audiences, defamiliarizing familiar objects, and creating an opportunity for them to further decode the hidden historical signs consciously. This decoding, from Yuri Lotman’s view on text, is an act of translation, which is not an asymmetrical process, for both the encoder and the decoder are affected and restricted by various factors. The asymmetrical relationship results in the generation of new meaning, and exemplifies the creative function of the text (Lotman 1990: 13). Lotman’s view on text echoes the Peircean view that a sign stands for something, to someone, necessitating reference to the mind in the production of meaning. By not providing explicit and abundant information about the space, Parks leaves enough room for readers and audiences to find diverse elements for the spatialization. As for Parks’s intentional use of place of indetermination, the stage direction becomes an abstraction from reality, allowing, and requiring readers and audiences to engage in the interpretation of the text. The playwright’s intended meaning is then automatically generated within different levels of interpretations. Consequently, they will think profoundly about the setting of the play. The vagueness of the stage direction in the beginning paves the way for Baartman’s later relentless mobility and diasporic status.

The setting in the next scene is then shifted to London, where Baartman transforms into The Venus and is displayed as a freak alongside The Chorus of the 8 Human Wonders. Directly entitling the scene “She looks like Shes Fresh Off the Boat,” Parks chooses to skip the depiction of Baartman boarding the ferry boat, the relentless sea, and the damp cabin in the onstage space. Instead of including this information in the side text (stage directions), she integrates the spatial shift directly into the main text, using dialogue signs.

The Girl: When do we get to England, Sir?

The Brother: This is England! Cant you tell? (Parks 1997: 22)

The above dialogue and subsequent ones reveal that The Venus is transported to London, sold to a circus, and then encaged like a zoo animal. Billed as “Venus Hottentot,” she is imprisoned within an iron cage, her body put on display as an oddity. The period during which The Venus becomes known as the “Hottentot Venus” and the corresponding theatrical space serve as a painful reminder of the history of suffering of a continent and its people. “In order for a theatre spatialization/temporalization to occur, the participants in the dialogue have to refer to time and space in their dialogue. That is, in many cases, and in particular when space and time are not represented, or rather, presented, the actual discourse may create this space and time” (Toro 1995: 20). By employing more audible manifestation rather than visual manifestation, Parks encourages readers and audiences to have a closer inspection of the dialogues, as they are the significant signals of the play. The spatial transition of The Venus from colonial South Africa to London exposes the dark history of the slave trade. The play is set in the year 1810. “Three years after the Bill for the Abolition of the Slave-Trade had been passed in Parliament, among protests and denials the slave trade still went on” (Parks 1997: 46). Parks skillfully weaves this historical context of the slave trade into the dialogues, leaving room for readers and audiences to develop their own awareness and understanding of the tragic experiences faced by this diasporic figure.

The spatial shift in the play is heightened in Scene 21, titled “The Whirlwind Tour,” where The Venus embarks on a display tour, journeying from town to town and country to country. In contrast to the dialogue signs in the play, the vague stage directions briefly indicate “They are traveling” (Parks 1997: 58), leaving many options open. The traveling route is further visualized through The Negro Resurrectionist’s monologues in the play.

The Negro Resurrectionist: Town A! Town B! Town C! Town E!

Town 25! Town 36! Town 42! Town 69!

[…]

The Negro Resurrectionist: Town R! Town U! Town E! Town Q!

Town 58! Town 64! Town 85! Town 99!

(Rest)

(Rest)

Town A! Town B! Town C! Town E!

Town 25! Town 36! Town 42! Town 69!

(Rest)

Town R! Town U! Town E! Town Q!

Town 58! Town 64! Town 85! Town 99!

(Parks 1997: 58–59)

They move from “Town X to Town Y Town Y to Town Z. Town C to Town A Town A to Town B. Town B to Town C then back to Town X then off” (Parks 1997: 52). The Negro Resurrectionist’s calling out of the numbers of towns delineates the rapid transformation of space, shedding light on The Venus’s objectification for commercial exploitation. By employing repetition, the playwright can not only achieve rhythmical and musical effects within the play, but also provide readers and audiences with a sense of spatial alteration and displacement. Even though the stage setting remains unchanged, through the use of repetitive language, the audiences can perceive the shift in time and space. The minimal stage directions and ambiguous textual references in the play trigger readers and audiences to concentrate on the movements in the theatrical space. Meanwhile, they convey the playwright’s central concern of resurrecting the history of the White’s exploitation of Africans.

In Scene 20A to Scene 20J, titled “The Venus Hottentot Before the Law,” Parks establishes the setting within a jail cell and later a courtroom. The Venus is brought to trial being accused of public indecency. The creation of spatialization is achieved through vague stage directions and signified dialogues. Parks skillfully employs the deictic dimension of the dialogues to establish the theatrical space, embedding the transitions within the discourse itself. For example, The Negro Resurrectionist opens the scene with the announcement, “A Song of The Hottentot ladie and her day in court and what the judges did therein” (Parks 1997: 62), indicating the change in space and introducing the theme of the upcoming court proceedings. Parks vividly exposes the hypocrisy and hidden motives underlying the court hearing revolving around The Venus. It becomes apparent that the court’s purported intention to “receive her immediately under its protection” (Parks 1997: 64) is driven by a desire to locate her acquaintances and subsequently deport her back to her home country. This unearths the court’s true agenda of relieving itself of any responsibility or burden associated with The Venus’s presence. The language employed by the court further underscores the performative nature of the proceedings. The phrase “Let’s get this show on the road” implies a theatricality to the trial, where the court is more focused on putting on a display of its self-perceived righteousness rather than genuinely seeking justice.

The subsequent scene, set in Paris, further reinforces The Venus as a symbol of an exploited victim. The playwright employs a combination of both the main text (dialogues) and side text (stage directions) to depict the theatrical space. By utilizing less precise location descriptions, she establishes a sense of spatiality and signifies the change in setting. The scant reference to the spatial shift shows, “They are in the bedroom” (Parks 1997: 76). Subsequent dialogues unveil that The Venus has been transported to Paris by The Baron Docteur, where she is imprisoned within his house, which is, in reality, an imagined love nest. The Baron Docteur anesthetizes her, takes physical measurements, and eventually dissects her after her demise, all in an attempt to advance his medical career. For The Venus, the spatial shift from Southern Africa to London and subsequently to Paris merely represents a transition from one confining space to another.

Taken together, the multiplicity of settings in Venus effectively portrays the transformation of space. Despite the simplicity and brevity of the stage directions and dialogues, by engaging readers and audiences in spontaneous meaning-generation through their different levels of interpretation, Parks still presents a rich theatrical space. She resorts to the theatrical space within to manifest the representations of space in the play. The theatrical space lacks precision and requires more imaginative concretizations, entailing the creation of new information within the minds of readers and audiences. This play contains minimal references to specific spaces. The visualization of the multidimensional spaces in the play mainly depends on the readers’ and audiences’ imagination. Through the compressed narrative space of Venus within the mainstream context, Parks revives the vividness by employing rapid spatial shifts. The concreteness of text leads to the determinacy of interpretation, while abstractness brings about the openness of it. By intentionally incorporating abstract stage directions, she prompts readers and audiences to contemplate how history should be interpreted and other related issues.

The play offers limited stage directions concerning the character movement and positions of the characters and theatrical objects, allowing readers and audiences to perceive this in their own minds. The frequent spatial shifts throughout the play encompass themes such as slave trade, the objectification of the Black female, and the commodification of the blacks in history and disclose the miserable living conditions endured by the blacks and the oppression imposed by colonialists. “Theatrical space is the very locus for mimesis: constructed from textual elements, theatrical space must at the same time project itself as representational – a figure for something from the real world” (Ubersfeld 1999: 96). By the manipulation of the theatrical space, Parks makes The Venus an iconic character who is a signifier of European cultural imperialism and colonialism. These historically focused signs render readers and audiences opportunities to immerse themselves in and envision different historical experiences.

It is also of significance to note that Parks manipulates the theatrical space throughout the play, seamlessly transitioning between different settings. The interplay between private space, such as a Southern African house and a bedroom in Paris, and public space, including a show center in London, a courtroom, The Baron Docteur’s laboratory, and an exhibition hall, serves to reveal the pervasiveness of racism and sexism. Hanna Scolnicov expounds her view on the structural division of space based on gender roles: “Gender roles are spatially defined in relation to the inside and the outside of the house […] whereas for woman, the house is the center of the world, ‘reality’ is concentrated inside the house, while outer space seems to collapse” (Scolnicov 1994: 6). However, in Venus, the theatrical space is not a gender-charged space where man and woman have their stereotypical division of space. It becomes “the image (indeed the reverse, the negative image) and the counter proof of real space” (Ubersfeld 1999: 94). The Venus is portrayed in relation to the private settings as both maid and mistress, while in the public space, she is commodified, criminalized, and objectified. Therefore, the shifts between private space and public space become vivid representations of racism and sexism and the exploitation of the Black female finds concrete expression in the diversity of stage loci. The subjectivity of the historical discourse is accomplished by the theatrical space within.

3 Historical reconstruction: a play-within-the-play

In addition to the dynamic spatial transformations depicted on stage, Parks actively inserts a play-within-the-play, a conventional theatrical device, to further construct the theatrical space within, making it a powerful expression of the historical space depicted. The inclusion of a play-within-the-play serves as a metaphorical transformation of space within the dramatic composition, directing readers’ and audiences’ attention to the central themes of the play.

A play-within-the-play involves one group of characters from the overarching sequences performing a play (the subordinate sequences) for another group of characters (Pfister 1988: 223). It can illuminate results and contribute to the understanding of dramatic actions. Pfister’s typological analysis of the play-within-the-play emphasizes the importance of examining the quantitative relationship between the primary action and the play-within-the-play, as well as the connections between the different characters on these two levels (Pfister 1988: 224). In Venus, the primary action unfolds across 25 scenes, presenting the tragic journey of Sara Baartman, an African woman, who leaves colonial South Africa to seek her fortune in Europe, only to find herself displayed as a freak and later held as an object of scientific racism. The remaining six scenes, titled “For the Love of the Venus” constitute the secondary play within the narrative, where a white woman impersonates The Venus to fulfill her fiancé’s desires. The very title of the secondary play, “For the Love of the Venus,” serves as a symbolic microcosm communicating to readers and audiences the elaborate irony on which the entire dramatic action of Venus pivots. By inserting “For the Love of the Venus,” Parks establishes the limits between the reality depicted in the main play (frame play) and that of the secondary play (play framed). Each play has its own distinct plot, and the insertion of the play-within-the-play disrupts the linear progression of the main narrative, creating a mutually transformative relationship. The nonlinear narrative provides a framework for examining the forgotten historical events signified by the deployment of the play-within-the-play, adding layers of meaning to the overall theatrical experience. This meta-theatrical device allows the playwright to delve deeper into historical contexts, challenge conventional narratives, and invite readers and audiences to critically engage with history. It also invites them to reflect on the complexities of representation and the interplay between reality and fiction, fostering a deeper understanding of the historical themes explored in the play.

The juxtaposition of the frame play and the play framed distracts the readers’ and audiences’ gaze from the plot of the play and guides them to unfold the real history on their own. The play-within-the-play is mainly assigned three functions in Venus. To begin with, it serves to link the main play with the secondary one. The Venus and The Baron Docteur, the two characters who exist in both plays, move between different levels of the main play and the secondary play, constructing a triple play-within-the-play. The Venus and The Baron Docteur playing in both the main play and secondary play and The Bride-to-Be playing The Venus in the secondary play contribute to the difficulty of comprehension of the play and establish the connection between the two levels. By traveling back and forth in both plays, The Venus and The Baron Docteur sometimes baffle readers and audiences and pose difficulties for them in understanding the production. Therefore, a sense of strangeness is created. In addition, when characters are in different spaces, their behaviors also tend to differ. For instance, in the secondary play, while watching the play in the theater, The Baron Docteur portrays himself as refined, applauding the actors’ performances with courteous claps at the end. However, in the main play, in the presence of The Venus, he reveals his hypocritical and malicious side. His sole purpose in bringing The Venus to Paris is to study her body, in order to better substantiate his argument that Africans are an inferior race, thus providing a desperate defense for the legitimacy of the slave trade. The Baron Docteur’s starkly contrasting personas in these two distinct spaces help readers and audiences grasp the true essence of this character. This, in turn, enables them to adopt a critical and evaluative stance.

Secondly, the spatial arrangements within the play-within-the-play carry metaphorical significance. In the play-within-the-play, an intriguing spatial arrangement unfolds. The Venus, as a spectator, observes The Baron Docteur, who is the sole audience member, while The Baron Docteur, in turn, directs his gaze toward the other characters within the secondary play. These deliberate staging choices serve multiple purposes for Parks. Firstly, they expand the spatial dimension of the stage, creating a sense of depth and complexity. Additionally, this arrangement blurs the boundaries between seemingly unrelated characters from both plays, highlighting their interconnectedness within the narrative. Although The Venus remains silent throughout the play-within-the-play, her physical presence on stage holds symbolic weight, accentuating the dual layers of fictionality in the overall presentation. At first glance, the main play and the secondary play in Venus may appear to exist independently of each other. However, a closer examination reveals that both plays share a common theme: the objectification of women as possessions of men. In the main play, The Venus, an African woman, is exploited by a white male. Similarly, in the secondary play, The Bride-to-Be, a white woman, is portrayed as a mere attachment to a male figure. Both characters experience oppression, injustice, and sexual exploitation, highlighting the pervasive presence of racism and sexism. The intertwining of the main play and the secondary play generates curiosity among readers and audiences. As they witness the unfolding events surrounding The Venus in the main play, they are prompted to contemplate the connection between the two plays and engage in a conscious reflection on the historical manifestations of racism and sexism. This theatrical device effectively establishes a link between the historical context and the performance on stage.

Through the creation of the “play-within-the-play,” Parks endeavors to “tackle the pseudo-scientific racism and its discoveries that have marred the image of Black women throughout history” (Ghasemi 2015: 278). By intertwining these narratives, Parks provokes a critical examination of societal constructs and power dynamics, urging readers and audiences to confront the ongoing legacy of oppression and exploitation. Through this powerful theatrical device, she challenges readers and audiences to question and reconsider the historical and contemporary treatment of marginalized individuals, particularly Black women, and encourages readers and audiences to actively work toward dismantling these systems of discrimination.

In addition, the play-within-the play is adopted as a vehicle for the alienation effect, a technique often associated with Bertolt Brecht. Brecht defined “alienation” as the act of taking what is obvious, known, and evident to a character or event and transforming it into something that evokes surprise and curiosity (Brecht 1961: 14). In Venus, the incorporation of the secondary play within the main narrative disrupts readers’ and audiences’ expectations and conventional modes of storytelling, creating an open space for semiotic interpretation. By introducing this theatrical device, Parks challenges familiar narratives and creates a sense of estrangement or detachment. Readers and audiences are encouraged to critically engage with the events unfolding on stage, questioning the underlying social and historical constructs that perpetuate oppression and inequality. Parks’s insertion of the secondary play destroys the emotional climaxes that the main play has established. The unity of action and narrative flow of the play has been disrupted, discouraging readers’ and audiences’ involvement in the illusory world created on the stage. This distancing device creates its own narrative, different from traditional theater, which encourages audiences to accept and believe what is unfolded on stage. Parks provides readers and audiences with a platform for critical engagement with the historical themes presented in Venus. Through the play-within-the-play, she triggers them to contemplate the profound implications of the theatrical space and its configurations. The dramatic shift from the main play, centered around The Venus’s story, to the secondary play, titled “For the Love of the Venus,” prompts readers and audiences to recognize that The Venus’s narrative extends beyond the confines of individual lives. Parks broadens the perspective, inviting readers and audiences to contemplate the collective experiences of all those who have endured suffering and oppression. By transcending the personal fate of The Venus, the play-within-the-play becomes a powerful tool for exploring universal themes and shedding light on the shared struggles of humanity. The open space for semiotic interpretation encourages readers and audiences to reflect not only on the specific historical context depicted, but also on the broader human condition and the societal forces that perpetuate injustice. Through this critical engagement, Parks invites readers and audiences to deepen their understanding of the complexities of history and the enduring relevance of its lessons.

In conclusion, the play-within-the-play serves as a deliberate distancing device, purposefully diverting the attention of readers and audiences away from the main story. These sudden disruptions in the illusion of the narrative encourages active and critical thinking, inviting the readers and audiences to ponder the intricate relationship between the main play and the secondary play, and how they relate to reality. Appreciating Parks’s plays is an experience of “read[ing] the old text again with the new sight provided by her revisionary work. As a result of this rereading, the old text, still intact, emerges more whole, more complete, and perhaps even more relevant than before it was subject to the revisionary impulse, because the reader’s vision is clearer, more inspired, and more informed” (Larson 2012: 5). Through the skillful blending of historical truth and fiction, Parks imbues different spatial units with relevant meanings, ultimately reconstructing history itself. Moreover, in the readers’ and audiences’ semiotic meaning-generation during interpretation, they are also participating in the reconstruction of history. This interplay between fact and imagination allows a nuanced exploration of the past, enabling the generation of fresh insights and perspectives. This intentional blurring of boundaries between reality and theatricality fosters a deeper appreciation for the complexities and nuances of historical narratives.

4 Historical enunciations: historical extracts

Anne Ubersfeld emphasizes the representational meanings of theatrical space without, suggesting that “history’s past, perceived according to an off-stage perspective, is no longer perceived in terms of a conflict unfolding before our eyes, but rather as a symbolic reference” (Ubersfeld 1999: 129). In Venus, Parks actively constructs the theatrical space without, making the real history depicted. Her articulation of theatrical space without is predominantly achieved through the use of “historical extracts” and the character of The Negro Resurrectionist.

In Venus, Parks employs “historical extracts” as an embedded narrative to present the history of Sara Baartman in the form of footnotes. These footnotes serve as insets, providing additional layers of information and context to the main narrative, enriching readers’ and audiences’ understanding of the story, allowing the playwright to interweave historical and contextual information seamlessly within the play, and creating a multidimensional storytelling experience that engages readers and audiences on multiple levels.

The following footnote is the first one presented by The Negro Resurrectionist, revealing the time of the play.

THE NEGRO RESURRECTIONIST.

Footnote # 1:

(Rest)

Historical Extract. Category: Theatrical.

(Rest)

The year was 1810. On one end of town, in somewhat shabby circumstances, a young woman, native of the dark continent, bares her bottoms. At the same time but in a very different place, on the other end of town in fact, we witness a very different performance. (Parks 1997: 24)

Time information plays a significant role in Venus, and it is effectively conveyed through the use of historical extracts and specific references to the year 1810. The year 1810 is repeatedly mentioned throughout the play, marking crucial moments in the narrative and providing historical context for the events unfolding on stage. The first instance of the year 1810 occurs when The Venus is introduced to the public for the first time. “The year was 1810, three years after the Bill for the Abolition of the Slave-Trade had been passed in Parliament, and among protests and denials, horror and fascination, The Venus show went on” (Parks 1997: 36). This reference immediately situates readers and audiences within a specific historical period, highlighting the persistence of the slave trade despite legislative efforts to abolish it. It sets the stage for the tragic journey of The Venus and invites contemplation on the societal dynamics and conflicts of the time. Another notable mention of “1810” occurs during the court hearing in Scene 20, where The Venus is defending herself against accusations of indecency in displaying her body. This specific time reference serves to anchor readers and audiences in the moment and adds a layer of historical authenticity to the scene. It underscores the societal norms and biases that The Venus is up against, as well as the challenges she faces in seeking justice and recognition. By incorporating these references to the year 1810, Parks effectively integrates historical markers into the play’s narrative. These time references not only provide temporal context but also serve as reminders of the larger historical backdrop against which the characters and events unfold. They invite readers and audiences to reflect on the significance of the era and its implications for the themes of exploitation, objectification, and resistance explored throughout the play.

The frequent reference to the year 1810 is an allusion to the practice of slavery lasting for a long period in history. Despite the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act three years prior, the deeply ingrained social beliefs and attitudes surrounding slavery had not undergone significant change. This serves to highlight the persistence of the demand for slave labor during that period, as well as the existence of loopholes that allowed the transportation of slaves into Britain. The Act of 1807, while aiming to abolish the slave trade, contained loopholes and penalties that were relatively lenient, thus enabling the continuation of this abhorrent practice. In Venus, The Mother-Showman takes advantage of this loophole and makes profits from publicly displaying The Venus. Though not a slave in name, The Venus is later acknowledged by Witness #3, a noted abolitionist, to be no different than a slave: “It is contrary to every principle of morality and good order as this exhibition connects the same offense to public decency with that most horrid of all situations, Slavery” (Parks 1997: 72). Upon realizing that they have created too many “disturbances” (Parks 1997: 57) in exhibiting The Venus’s body, The Mother-Showman plans to move the show from town to town so as to escape the controversy and possible punishment, despite knowing that the business is to some extent illegal, or at that time at least, immoral.

The year “1810” is referenced once again in the play immediately following the death of The Venus by The Negro Resurrectionist: “The year was 1810, three years after the Bill for the Abolition of the Slave-Trade had been passed in Parliament, and among protests and denials, horror and fascination her show went on. She died in Paris 5 years later: A plaster cast of her body was once displayed, along with her skeleton, in the Musee de l’Homme” (Parks 1997: 159). This final mention of the year serves as a poignant reminder of the historical context in which her tragic story unfolds. Despite the abolition of the Slave Trade Act and the changing times, the systemic issues of exploitation and objectification of Black individuals persist. The repetition of the year “1810” acts as a somber reflection on the unyielding grip of oppression and the enduring struggles faced by marginalized communities, even in the face of legislative efforts for change.

Besides the historical extract related to temporal signals, another memorable historical extract is in Scene 13 entitled “Footnote #7.” The Negro Resurrectionist reads from The Baron Docteur’s notebook, which includes a detailed physical description of The Venus:

Her hair was black and wooly, much like that of the common Negro, the slits of the eyes horizontal as in Mongols, not oblique; the brows straight, wide apart and very much flattened close to the top of the nose, but jutting out at the temple above the cheekbones; her eyes were dark and lively; her lips blackish, terribly thick; her complexion very dark. (Parks 1997: 109)

This historical extract is another articulation of the theatrical space without, providing further historical and cultural context within the play and shedding light on the oppressive forces at play. The detailed physical description of The Venus highlights The Venus’s lack of ownership over her own body. In both the theatrical space within, presented on stage, and the theatrical space without, provided by the historical extracts, she is subjected to an inferior position, enduring derogation and being under the control of Europeans. The historical extracts draw readers’ and audiences’ attention to the oppressive dynamics that deny The Venus’s agency and sovereignty over her own physical being. Her autonomy and bodily integrity are consistently disregarded. By portraying The Venus’s continuous subjugation and the denial of her self-ownership and agency, the play serves as a critique of the historical exploitation and objectification of Black individuals, particularly Black women. It invites reflection on the dehumanizing effects of colonialism and the ways in which marginalized individuals have been denied control over their own bodies. Through this exploration, the playwright prompts readers and audiences to confront the systemic injustices that persistently strip individuals of their bodily autonomy and challenges society to reconsider the historical and ongoing oppression faced by marginalized communities. In the historical context, following Sarah Baartman’s death, she became the subject of intensive study by anatomists. After her passing in December 1815 at the age of 27, she was dissected by anatomist George Cuvier. A portion of her body remained on display at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris until its exhibition finally ceased in 1985. Eventually, her remains were repatriated to South Africa in 2002 for a proper burial.

The above historical extracts reveal that the racialization and sexualization of The Venus serve as a poignant symbol of European dominance and exploitation of Africa. In this footnote, The Baron Docteur exercises absolute control and ownership over her body, leaving her devoid of agency. This power dynamic mirrors the historical reality wherein the blacks were similarly bereft of autonomy, as their bodies and colonized homelands in the “dark continent” were claimed and controlled by Europe.

In Venus, the historical extracts in the form of embedded footnotes fragment the already complex narrative structure of the play, segmenting the content of each scene. This decomposition results in a more disjointed and fragmented narrative. The historical extracts appear in various categories and are positioned at different locations within the play, as outlined in Table 1.

In Venus, the objectivity of the historical discourse is achieved by the theatrical space without in which the playwright uses the above historical extracts of various categories. By incorporating “historical extracts” into the play, Parks presents snippets of historical documentation that serve as references to the broader historical context. These extracts provide a deeper layer of meaning and offer insights into the social, cultural, and political climate of the time. They serve as a bridge between the fictional narrative and the historical reality, enriching the readers’ and audiences’ understanding and engagement with the play. The historical events are visually translated into the historical extracts which depict the theatrical space without, and are mimeses and representations of the real history of Europe’s colonization of Africa and its exploitation of blacks. Many of the historical extracts in the play are presented in the form of footnotes, spoken as inserts by the character The Negro Resurrectionist at the transition of scenes. These footnotes, echoing social spaces, include time information, the physical description of The Venus’s body through autopsy reports, advertisements, the aesthetic derogation of her body, newspaper reports, statements she made herself, her baptism certificate, a court hearing, etc. Parks supplies the historical background by letting The Negro Resurrectionist navigate the odd text. The transportation into the history works as a distancing device, making readers and audiences periodically aware that what is taking place on the stage is not real life but a theatrical production.

Overall, by incorporating historical extracts, Parks deepens the exploration of the historical and social implications of The Venus’s story, inviting readers and audiences to critically engage with the broader issues of racism, objectification, and dehumanization. Repeating the year 1810 several times in the play, she joins the historical with the literary, making The Venus a theatrical symbol of Black people suffering from both economic and sexual exploitation. By using the temporal signifier, she constructs a historical space displaying the unremitting impact and harm Europe inflicted upon the dark continent, shedding light on the complexities of The Venus’s experiences and fostering a greater understanding of the historical context in which she existed.

Together with “historical extracts,” The Negro Resurrectionist, as a character in the play, also embodies the theatrical space without. By means of melodramatic dialogues and poetic soliloquies in the play, he serves as a conduit for historical information and perspectives. His presence on stage not only adds depth to the narrative but also distances readers and audiences by its strangeness. He acts as a guide, illuminating the historical backdrop and inviting readers and audiences to reflect on the significance of the events unfolding before them.

THE NEGRO RESURRECTIONIST.

Have you heard about

the rump she has (though strange it be).

Large as a cauldron pot?

This is why men go to see

The Venus Hottentot. (Parks 1997: 62)

The above monologue highlights The Negro Resurrectionist as the expository character, who emerges as odd to both readers and audiences, thereby engendering a sense of disconnection between the characters/actors in the play and the readers/audiences of the play. As a third-person narrator, he defies conventional exposition by acquainting readers and audiences with the play’s background and concurrently describes events unfolding in disparate locations. This act of divulging the unseen plot in the theatrical space without, distanced from readers and audiences, is amplified through his dialogues. For instance, in the “Overture,” he resists becoming absorbed by the play, offering an initial and objective introduction of himself.

THE NEGRO RESURRECTIONIST. The Negro Resurrectionist! (Parks 1997: 1)

In addition, he announces the title and the number of each scene as it occurs, which prefaces all the stage action.

THE NEGRO RESURRECTIONIST. Scene #30: She Looks Like Shes Fresh Off the Boat: (18)

THE NEGRO RESURRECTIONIST. Scene 29: Presenting: “For the Love of the Venus.” A Drama in 3 Acts. Act I, Scene 3: (Parks 1997: 24)

As the omniscient narrator in the play, The Negro Resurrectionist has complete knowledge of the plot and of the unspoken thoughts of characters in the play. He watches everything and everyone on the stage. The Baron Docteur and others are watching The Venus. The Negro Resurrectionist is watching them. From time to time, he reads from The Baron Docteur’s notebook, which underlines his omnipresence. His communicative potential lies in his role of omnipresent narrator who provides historical documents and extracts to the readers and audiences.

Additionally, readers and audiences may feel discouraged from being totally emotionally involved in the play because now and then they are interrupted by The Negro Resurrectionist and have to step back from the play. Moreover, each time the readers and audiences are swallowed by the illusion built by the play, The Negro Resurrectionist’s free conversation with other characters in the play pulls them back to reality, reminding them that they are watching a play.

The theatrical space without in this play is a representation of historical and social background. By constructing a space off-stage, the playwright enlarges the coverage of her narrative. The Venus’s choice to visit Europe and publicly exhibit her body, her consent to induced abortions, and the changes in her notion of home all resonate with the plight of people of African descent at the time. Parks once said, referencing William Faulkner, “History is not ‘was,’ history is ‘is.’ It’s present, so if you believe that history is in the present, you can also believe that the present is in the past […] so you can fill in the blanks. You can do it now by inserting yourself into the present. You can do it for back then, too” (Parks 1990: 316). In Venus, she reconstructs history through the construction of theatrical space without, and skillfully intertwines fiction and history, blurring the boundaries between the two. This deliberate fusion allows readers and audiences to engage with the play on multiple levels, encouraging them to contemplate the broader historical implications and draw connections to contemporary issues. By invoking the power of the theatrical space, Parks effectively transports readers and audience into the world of Venus, where history is brought to life and its impact resonates long after the final curtain falls.

5 Conclusions

In Venus, Parks deals with African history from a new perspective and presents historical pieces ostensibly not meant to be staged. She crafts the theatrical space within by means of the theatrical space without in order to guide readers and audiences to see history with more critical eyes and see history beyond the surface of the dramatic texts. The Peircean model suggests that the meaning of a sign is not “contained” within it, but arises in its interpretation (Chandler 2022: 14), and in theater, the audience–stage relationship is fundamental in the production of meaning, since “without an audience or spectator, the performance is obviously not possible” (Toro 1995: 97). By using vague stage directions and employing the alienation effect, Parks leaves room for open semiotic interpretation, inviting readers and audiences to actively engage in the meaning-making of the play, and in so doing, to participate in the reconstruction of history. In her essay “Possession,” she argues that the recording of history is not trustworthy:

Since history is a recorded or remembered event, theatre, for me, is the perfect place to ‘make’ history—that is, because so much of African-American history has been unrecorded, disremembered, washed out, one of my tasks as a playwright is to—through literature and the special strange relationship between theatre and real-life—locate the ancestral burial ground, dig for bones, hear the bones sing, write it down. (Parks 1995: 13)

By her “remembering,” Parks discovers the power of remaking a historical space. Combining what she has discovered from historical materials and her own creative techniques, she offers a space for readers and audiences to rethink the history of people of African descent. “Narration becomes the only way to maintain the meaning of the dying world, and the power of storytelling gives order to the chaos of the world” (Busby 2000: 231), and Parks’s reviving of Sarah Baartman in her unique way helps with remembering the history of Europe’s exploitation, colonization, racialization, and sexualization of Africa.

By using multiple theatrical spaces and manipulating the theatrical spaces within and without, Parks keep “unearthing history with a host of diggers and figures who refuse to die” (Warner 2008: 183). She voices the concerns of Africans, especially African women, and shows the forgotten and unseen history. The interplay between the theatrical spaces within and without in Venus makes history more relevant and visceral. Readers and audiences have been given opportunities to revisit history and see the past in a more personal way, having multiple additional semiotic inputs to integrate into their experience. The abounding historical signs in the multidimensional theatrical space make Venus an elucidation of Black history.