The colder it gets, the lonelier I feel!

The circular shape of the duelling arena makes sense stylistically, as it matches the shape of the rose crest, but it is very different from the typical rectangular fencing piste. However, I realised the other day that the Orchestra space in an Ancient Greek theatre has an identical shape. Theatre is of course a huge theme in and influence on Utena, and in this respect the duelling arena is the ultimate reprisentation of this: an artificially constructed space where backdrops (the castle) and scenery (the desks, the cars) come and go to influence and/or reprisent the characters’ motivations and emotions. The duelling arena is the place where the artificial identities which the cast embody or strive for are performed (especially in Utena’s case - she literally plays the role of prince in the arena as if it is a theatre), since the duels display the culmination of each duellist’s motivation and psyche.

However, most of the duellists are not even aware that they are actors, and their play has a definite purpose, likening it more to Greek theatre’s origins in religious ritual. Dyonisus (the god of theatre to whom dramatic festivals were dedicated) was sometimes worshipped as a god who dies and is reborn, from which a comparison can be drawn to the figure of the prince in Utena.

The Orchestra space itself is not, however, where the principal players would have acted out the plot: it is where the chorus would have stood and sung, commenting on the story and interacting with the other characters (in tragedy at least). I’m not sure how well this metaphor extends to Utena - possibly, Akio sees himself as the actor on the main stage and the rest of the duellists (especially those who aren’t the engaged) as a chorus - vital to the story/the achievement of his ends, but ultimately detatched from his main plot.