Murphy

In Murphy, I was drawn to Beckett’s looping, circular dramaturgy — characters chasing purpose in a world that refuses to give them one. With a limited budget, I set out to design a space that visually performed that absurdity. The solution was an oval playing area without walls, where boundaries were enforced not by architecture but by the bodies and behaviors of the performers. Even as the space was open, characters remained trapped inside a cycle of repetition — always running, never arriving.

To reinforce this sensation, I created a continuous oval back wall constructed from simple framing, plastic piping, and stretched fabric — a lightweight yet imposing presence. The green-striped world suggested a stage without exits: no corners to hide in, no horizon to reach. Even the floor pattern — endlessly tiled — pushed everything into rotation, a reminder that this pursuit was infinite and futile.

Working within material constraints encouraged a playful yet precise approach: the environment appears minimal, but every curve, every sightline, every open threshold intensifies the sense of circular confinement. This project allowed me to explore how scenography — even stripped to essentials — can make the audience feel the logic of absurdity: the comfortless humor of a world that keeps spinning long after meaning disappears.