The play 'Truth is a style' by Robert Overson and Martin Coles seems at first glance rather confusing. Following the rules of post-structuralism, the play demonstrates a tendency to deconstruct any framework of meaning. The fragmentary style of writing underlines the deconstruction of meaning and of traditional semantics, but also highlights the infinite possibilities that exist in language if you dare transcend the borders of semantics. 'Truth is a style' stresses the difficulty of trying to assign meaning to modern life in a discussion of apparently unrelated issues such as hygiene as an aphrodisiac, idea criminals, ergonomic clothing and the truth of relativity. Besides the fragmentary style, the reader is further confused by the unidentified characters. The two characters address each other by many different names, which ensures that the two speakers never emerge as distinct individuals, rather as detached voices uttering independent statements. Whenever the reader attempts to analyse or understand the play from a holistic perspective, he will fail. The fragmentary style of the play insinuates that truth like style can never be conceived as anything but a relative phenomenon.
Rie Kooistra