Theatricality, Playtexts and Society

Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-1-00-950628-1
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 75 Seiten

Reihe: Elements in Contemporary Performance Texts

This Element proposes a novel way of defining, understanding and approaching theatricality, a term that exists both in the theatre and, more broadly, in everyday life. It argues that four foundational, material processes of theatre-making manifest themselves in all playtexts in both overt and covert forms. Each of the four sections defines a different theatrical process, explores its functions in two chosen playtexts and examines its implications for the wider experience of the spectators outside the theatre. The study concludes with a supplementary reflection on performance to show how even seemingly untheatrical playtexts can be analysed and staged to reveal their unspoken theatricality. It also argues that this new understanding of theatricality has politics, that the artifice of any theatre and the constructedness of any society are analogous and that both, consequently, can be fundamentally changed. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Barnett, David

Inhaltsverzeichnis

An Introduction to Theatricality; 1. Actors play roles; 2. Actors speak the words of others; 3. Actors are given instructions by others; 4. Actors perform to live audiences; 5. Conclusion; References.