Body Parts: Theatrical Supernumeraries and The Politics of Performance

Outside of theatre contexts, the word “supernumerary” is most commonly associated with a congenital condition involving the growth of an additional body part. This linguistic association between “supernumerary” and “body part” also holds for its theatrical usage. As an unspeaking, physical presence on stage, the supernumerary might very well be considered a body part: a part which is almost completely defined by embodiment, free from textual or vocal constraints. In this way, the supernumerary is both a presence and an absence: at once a physical presence loaded with semiotic meaning, and simultaneously a theatrical absence, as a voiceless, unnamed character. This article will examine both the artistic and the political significance of the theatrical supernumerary, or “body part”.