The Theatricalists: Making Politics Appear (Performance Works) - Softcover

Theron Schmidt (author)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0810147548 ISBN 13: 9780810147546

Publisher: Northwestern University Press, 2024

Synopsis

Examines how the politics of the theatre can illuminate the theatricality of politics

Theatricality is often dismissed as a distraction from “real” politics, as when cynical political gestures are derided as “pure theatre” or “only theatre.” But the artists and theater companies discussed in this book, including Back to Back Theatre, Tim Crouch, Rabih MrouÉ, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, and Christoph Schlingensief, take a different approach. Theron Schmidt argues that they represent a “theatricalist turn” that explores and tests the conditions of the theater itself. Across diverse contexts of political engagement, ranging from disability rights to representations of violence, these theatrical conditions are interconnected with political struggles, such as those over who is seen and heard, how labour is valued, and what counts as “political” in the first place. In a so-called post-political era, The Theatricalists argues that an examination of theatre’s internal politics can expand our understanding of the theatricality of politics more broadly.

About this title

About the Author

Theron Schmidt is an assistant professor in the Department of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810147548
• ISBN 13: 9780810147546
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264