Trifles

I fell like doing a production of Trifles as minimalist would take away so much more than it would add. The hyper realism was a choice by the playwright to complement and enhance the characters and their actions. For example, when the men have already made up their mind that Mrs. Wright is guilty they then decide only to search for evidence of motive. When presented with the notion that they might want to check the kitchen for anything of importance, the sheriff says “nothing here but kitchen things.”  This comment, by a man, on the importance of the “women’s things” makes a much more powerful statement than the motives or growth of his particular character. The author is using the character to make a statement about the things, but she also uses the things to comment on the characters. In addition to the direct comments about the objects in question, they also serve as important vehicles for the motifs that the author placed in the script carefully. The images of the women using their things such as sewing, tie back into the putting together of the pieces in order to make a whole. The actions that were written into the play depend on the items and are just as important, if not more so at times, than the dialogue. The objects and the play are so intertwined that removing or diminishing one would also diminish the whole. I think that if the director wishes to produce a play where the characters are the ones who are focused on without help from the naturalistic details then they need to pick a different play.