Analysis of the Performance of Lava Directed by Richard Foreman Based on a Corpus-Based Approach and Charles Forceville’s Multimodal Metaphors

Richard Foreman’s Lava stands as one of the most distinctive experiments in postmodern theatre, where image, sound, movement, and ritual repetition take precedence over linear narrative. The central question of this article is how visual metaphors and metonymies function as the primary mechanisms of meaning-making in this performance. To address this, the study draws on Charles Forceville’s theory of multimodal metaphor, moving beyond text-based approaches to examine the interplay of body, stage, and visual signs in the process of signification. Methodologically, the research adopts a combined approach. First, it employs corpus-based techniques using software such as LancsBox and Voyant to process dramatic texts, performance data, and related documentation. Next, informed by Forceville’s multimodal framework, it investigates the ways visual metaphors and metonymies operate within the production. For Forceville, multimodal metaphor occurs when source and target domains are expressed through different modes—for example, image, sound, and text—and when meaning is conveyed across channels such as verbal/written, visual, gesture/movement, sound/music, and even sensory perception. He highlights the importance of co-presence in enabling the transfer of meaning from source to target. The integration of Forceville’s multimodal theory with corpus-based methods makes it possible to connect linguistic cues in the text with visual, auditory, and performative signs. The analysis of repetitions and semantic clusters helps identify focal words or domains associated with source and target, which can then be aligned with performative elements such as the body, mise-en-scène, lighting, and music in order to detect and evaluate multimodal metaphors. The examination of Lava reveals that patterns such as triadic structures, sound loops, ritualized actions, and the body as language function not merely as formal devices but as fundamental frameworks shaping audience experience. These structures construct metaphorical-metonymic networks that invite reflection on concepts such as identity, language, and self-awareness. The findings suggest that approaches like Forceville’s play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of multimodal mechanisms of meaning-making. In combination with corpus-based methodologies, this framework provides an effective model for analyzing complex performances such as Lava.