The 1996 production of Sam Shepard’s play, Buried Child, is certainly a shocking one. The production reels in the audience, as it portrays a somewhat-realistic living room inside a house with a family. The stage is set up with dim lighting and old, rundown furniture, as the setting of the production is in a poor, rural household in the 1970s. This is evident through details; the couch is worn-out with cotton sticking out and the blanket on top has holes. The play’s employment of realistic detail and intimate lighting really lures the audience in to a dark production. While the setting of the play may seem grim, the themes and characters of the play are even darker.
The 1970s was a decade of recession in the United States, particularly affecting rural homes. Clearly, this family was affected, as it seems to have low financial status and doesn’t take care of its home. The American Dream is a concept that in America, it is possible to achieve anything you want and make as much money as you’d like, as long as you work hard an maintain a strong work ethic. One theme of the production was how this family gave up on this dream. The play begins with Dodge and Halie literally screaming at each other from different rooms, though they are not fighting. Halie is seen doing this all throughout the play. She yells at every character (most of them her own children), yet presumes that the entire family is psychotic while she is the only sane one. Dodge is then seen drinking from a flask that he attempts to hide. It’s pretty clear that Dodge is an alcoholic and doesn’t do much besides sleep and sulk on his couch all day. Within the first ten minutes of the play, the audience sees that the patriarch and matriarch of the family are mentally unwell and have constructed a fairly dysfunctional household.
Throughout the production it becomes more and more evident that this family has moved away from the traditional American family. The father figure, Dodge, is not fulfilling his duties as patriarch; he sits and drinks and does not go out to provide for his family as the American Dream requires. And, it’s inferred that Halie is having an affair with the local church reverend! The traditional American family holds religious values; this family shatters these values. It is even implied that Halie had an incestuous experience with Tilden, their son, which in turn produced Halie’s grandson/son. Tilden (who also appears mentally unstable), seems to take care of Dodge, even though– in a traditional family– the father tends to care for the son. Although he’s bullied by the family throughout the play, Tilden yearns for approval and love following the death of his son, whom Dodge murdered. He brings in corn from the field, which Dodge claims was stolen since he hasn’t grown crops there for years– another sign that he doesn’t provide for the family.
Watching the production was far different from reading Shepard’s play, though the themes remain constant. The detail such as the tattered cloths, furniture, and intimate lighting is something I wouldn’t paid attention to as I read the play. Buried Child is both a shocking and depressing production, with dark twists and surprises in every scene. It shows the downfall of the American Dream in a particular family, a theme best portrayed in a theater rather than on paper.
