By Melike Kaya
What happens when people are stuck in society’s expectations? On January 22, the University of Hamburg’s Audimax auditorium hosted the production of the double bill Specters, presenting two plays that explore this question. First, Trifles by Susan Glaspell, followed by The American Dream by Edward Albee. Both plays were written in different times, but they share similar ideas about how society affects individuals, especially women. They show how these expectations limit people’s freedom and how they struggle with them.
In Trifles, the story is set in a small farmhouse where a man was found dead. The investigation begins, and the male detectives focus on the obvious clues. But two women, Mrs. Hale a farmer’s wife and Mrs. Peters who is the sheriff’s wife, notice small details that the men overlook. These details, like a broken birdcage and a dead bird, give us important clues about the woman who lived there, Minnie Wright, and her difficult life. The play shows how women were often dismissed and how their lives were shaped by society’s expectations.
In the first play, the actors gave a strong and emotional performance. The actresses playing Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters showed the struggles of their characters clearly. They made the audience feel the pain and strength of women who were often ignored. Their bond was very touching and made the story even more powerful. The way they worked together to uncover the truth kept the audience engaged and thinking about the struggles women faced in the past.
The set design of the farmhouse looked realistic and helped to show the time period. The costumes were simple and fit the characters well. There were also short projections on the stage during some moments, like flashbacks, that added more to the story and helped explain the characters’ lives. One unusual part of the play was the ghost of the man who had died. He was on stage during most of the play, moving around silently. At first, it wasn’t really clear what his role was, but toward the end, the wife seemed to see him, which added mystery to the story. While it was a little strange at times, the ghost helped make the play feel more emotional.
In The American Dream, the action takes place in the home of a strange family. The family consists of Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma, who are waiting for Mrs. Barker, a „professional woman”, to visit. As the play unfolds, it becomes clear that the family is hiding disturbing secrets. Mommy, a controlling, dramatic woman and Daddy who seems to be emotionally distant, both having the obsession of living a perfect life. The play looks at the emptiness behind the idea of the „American Dream” and how it has led to the family losing all real connections with each other.
The actors delivered a high-energy performance and managed to make the audience laugh earlier in the play. But especially the portrayal of both mommy’s and daddy’s character traits were perfectly shown in the play. In the very beginning, the actors managed to give the audience the impression of the characters demeanor. It was hard to tell whether the family members were meant to be taken seriously or were just exaggerated figures, but this uncertainty kept the audience curious about what would happen next.
The set design was unusual and added to the confusing feel of the play. The bright colored boxes, placed randomly on stage, made the setting feel chaotic and strange. At first, it wasn’t clear what they meant, and they distracted from the main action. This confusion reflected the confusion in the characters’ lives, as they lived in a world that cared more about appearances than what really mattered. The costumes also showed the strange personalities of the characters. Mommy’s more dramatic clothes and the exaggeration with the hat added by Daddy’s cold look made their odd behaviors stand out even more Both plays explore how society shapes people, especially women. In Trifles, the two women use their own knowledge and experience to figure out the truth, something the men fail to do. The play suggests that women often know more about what happens in their homes than they are given credit for.
In The American Dream, the family’s focus on having the perfect life shows how the idea of the American Dream can be empty and harmful. Even though these plays were written years apart, they both make us think about the pressures society puts on people. Looking at the roles of women in both plays, Trifles and The American Dream show the limits placed on women. In Trifles, the two women’s „quiet“ strength stands out, especially in comparison to the male characters who miss important clues. In The American Dream, the „professional woman” seems out of place in a world obsessed with appearances and the materialistic things, showing that women’s roles were often limited by society’s expectations.
In conclusion, both plays make you think about big ideas like gender and society. I personally wouldn’t watch the play voluntarily, but I’d still recommend it, hence it shares the awareness of the named subjects, which are especially important for students.
Photos by Sarah Naumann
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