
4 performances
Hampton Hill Theatre, United Kingdom
Machinal is a 1928 play by American journalist and playwright Sophie Treadwell and is inspired by the true story of a woman who murdered her husband; this woman, Ruth Snyder, was subsequently the very first female to be executed using the electric chair. Treadwell’s expressionist drama suggests that Snyder’s actions are the result of the stultifying and repressive role forced on women by society as she elevates the story to a broader view of the objectification of women in the early part of the 20th century. The female characters are simply identified by their jobs - this helps to portray women as subjected to the often brutal, mechanical demands of society, a society created by men, for men. The dialog is staccato-paced and filled with clichés and repetitions; and the plot of the story is episodic, with each episode representing a mode of female repression. In this manner, the young woman, Helen, becomes an everywoman.
Written in 1928, Machinal is a groundbreaking expressionist play that explores themes of oppression, societal expectations, and the suffocating constraints placed upon women. Inspired by the real-life case of convicted murderer Ruth Snyder, the play follows a young woman trapped in a mechanical, impersonal world that dictates every aspect of her existence.
Forced into a loveless marriage by social conventions, the protagonist struggles to find meaning in her stifling, monotonous life. As she suffocates under the pressures of conformity, she seeks escape through a passionate affair that briefly offers her the illusion of freedom. However, when her desperation leads her to commit a shocking act, she is swiftly condemned by the very system that shaped her.
Through fragmented dialogue and stark, repetitive imagery, Machinal paints a harrowing picture of societal control and individual desperation. A masterpiece of expressionist theatre, the play remains a powerful indictment of a world that leaves little room for autonomy or personal happiness.