Temporality in the Theatrical Universe of Jean-Pierre Martinez
The possible temporal frameworks of a play can be classified according to our typology of theatrical genres:
Realist Temporality
The action takes place in a realistic present or a realistic past, both corresponding to ordinary reality.
Surrealist Temporality
The action unfolds within a temporal distortion (in surrealist or absurdist theatre) or stages a journey through time (in fantastic theatre).
Symbolist Temporality
The action takes place within an imaginary temporality (in allegorical theatre), an uchronia (when an alternative reality is depicted based on an imagined divergence in the past), or within a form of anticipation (when a relatively near future is envisioned through a plausible projection based on elements of the present).
When this anticipation is pessimistic and built upon the most worrying aspects of our current reality, it is more specifically called a dystopia.
Objectivist Temporality
The action unfolds within a form of atemporality, insofar as the story — often very short — is not anchored in any specific period or temporal framework.