Act One, Part Two

In this section we learn more about Katurian through the form that Tupolski fills out.

The interesting thing about Tupolski, is his complete lack of “normal” reaction to the events occurring around him. He seems to see the whole investigation as a game or more simply a series of motions. Now I am kind to Katurian, Now I mock Katurian, Now I try to scare him. And this seems to be repeated on a constant loop.

The form, for example, is another part of Tupolski’s game and is meant to disorientate him. He asks questions such as “Next of kin?” even though he learnt the name of his brother in the previous question and I think it is clear that Tupolski already knows the answers. His attempt appears effective, as the character of Katurian is slightly panicked whilst repeating this line. The fact that Tupolski is asking this shows that the detention centre is a dangerous place. He has already told him that “bad things” could happen, but Katurian is still trying to convince himself that he will get out of this alive. The fact that Tupolski asks for this information is his suggestion of the opposite.

He drops hints like this throughout the entire play, and some are more obvious than others. At one point Tupolski goes to the cabinet for a drink, taking out a gun beforehand and leaving it on the top. This is at the moment when Katurian is learning that they have also arrested his brother. The casual way he does this, and the light hearted way he his speaking juxtaposes the gun, which simplistically symbolises both death and violence. This is important as Katurian is currently in a situation where he is in danger of being hurt or even killed. Tupolski’s casual attitude highlights to the audience that he is used to holding a gun, which increases the likely hood that Katurian will not leave the detention centre again, making the atmosphere more tense and terrifying.

Furthermore, when Katurian says “Kamenice Abattoir” Tupolski leans back in his chair. This is because Tupolski believes that Katurian is responsible for the murder of several children. Therefore he sees a connection between a murderer and a job at an abattoir (which is where animals are dissected). Tupolski leans back in order to highlight the importance of this information to him as a character. He shows the audience that he wants to study Katurian carefully as he speaks of his job. Understanding this is important for effecting the intonation of other lines. For example, when Tupolski says “You like your work there?” There is slight emphasise on the “like”. This is because Tupolski hopes to connect someone who enjoys working in a dissection lab with cutting up children, or at least he hopes to make Katurian worry that this is the connection he is making.  

Further on in this section, Katurian gives a speech and chooses to stand during it as an act of defiance. Throughout most of the play so far it has been clear that my character of Tupolski has the dominant role of the two and has been controlling the direction of the scene. By standing up, Katurian is putting himself on the same level as of Tupolski, suggesting in a way that he is trying to regain some control. This action also results in me and Katurian being the closest together that we have so far, and the sudden close proximity and eye connect makes the moment very intense but also surprising- Tupolski suddenly conflicting with a character that has been subservient up to that point. I think Tupolski sits down here in order to make a point to Katurian. He is saying that he does not need to be physically intimidating in order to have power. His decision to sit renders him as completely unafraid of Katurian or his current position standing over him. It ridicules his attempt to seem threatening and replaces anger with shock, leaving Katurian nervous and unsure of what to do next.  

During the interrogation Katurian gives information to Tupolski about what he thinks his best stories are. The one he uses as an example is “The Tale  of The Town on The River”. This particular story has very close links to one of the child murders. I think that in Tupolski’s mind, Katurian describing this as his best story could become a possible motive for the killings. What if Katurian was so proud of this story that he chose to recreate it? So when the character of Katurian mentions this in the play, Tupolski smiles, and quickly returns back to his desk to look through the papers. He sees it has a confirmation of his theory and of his ability as a detective.

Because of the storyline and the length of the scenes, it is possible for the play to seem quite stagnant. However this can be combatted through gesture, although it is important to make sure that this is used only when it adds something to the acting or helps to get across meaning. In the next layer of direction, I think it will be important to add more specific gesture alongside Tupolski’s lines. For example, the “go ahead” gesture.