Anti-War Theatre After Brecht: Dialectical Aesthetics in the Twenty-First Century PDF
Preview Anti-War Theatre After Brecht: Dialectical Aesthetics in the Twenty-First Century
Anti-War Theatre After Brecht Dialectical Aesthetics in the Twenty-First Century Lara Stevens Anti-War Theatre After Brecht Lara Stevens Anti-War Theatre After Brecht Dialectical Aesthetics in the Twenty-First Century Lara Stevens University of Melbourne Parkville, Australia ISBN 978-1-137-53887-1 ISBN 978-1-137-53888-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-53888-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016944840 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2 016 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identifi ed as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: © Bambiland, Lithuanian National Theater/OKT, 2007, directed by Yana Ross. Photograph by Dmitrij Matvejev Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London For my parents A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS First thanks are due to the subjects of this book – Caryl Churchill, Hélène Cixous, Elfriede Jelinek, Tony Kushner and Ariane Mnouchkine, for their generosity throughout the research and writing of this book. Thanks to the actors in the Théâtre du Soleil, in particular Astrid Grant, Shaghayegh Beheshti and Eve Doe-Bruce, who gave up their time to speak to me and made me feel so welcome at the Cartoucherie as well as the wonderful administrational staff at Théâtre du Soleil, particularly Liliana Andreone and Franck Pendino. Sincere thanks to Christian Schenkermayr and the other staff at the Elfriede Jelinek archive in Vienna for hosting me and for their excellent work and organization in this centre. I owe much to the inspiring thinking and discussion with my comrades Edwin Sayes, Jessica Whyte, Steve Wright, Justin Clemens, Adam Bartlett, Firas Massouh, Yoni Molad and my Hegelian teachers Bryan Cooke and Kim Mereine. Also to my colleagues and friends whose conversations helped shape and sustain this work intellectually and emotionally and who injected so much energy and fun into that journey: Anna Scheer, Sandra D’Urso, David Pejoski, Meredith Rogers, André Bastian, Elena Benthaus, Meredith Faragher, Nicola Hyland, Polash Larson and the extraordinary Bella Li. I am grateful for being granted permission to include excerpts from Homebody/Kabul published by Theatre Communications Group, as well as S even Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza published by Nick Hern Books and Iraq.doc by the author Caryl Churchill. This book was supported by a publication subsidy from the Australian Academy of the Humanities for which I am very grateful. I am deeply appreciative of the hard work of vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS April James and Jenny McCall at Palgrave Macmillan, and the Palgrave Macmillan reviewer, for their enthusiasm and valuable suggestions for improvement. The research trips for this book were made possible by the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne, the French Trust Fund, the French Research History Higher Degree Scholarship and the Raidy Scholarship. I am very grateful to Helen Davies, Tjahaja James Lee Riady, Michael Bula and all the donors of the French Trust Fund for their generosity and their belief in the value of this work. I was very fortunate to have Meg Mumford and Sean Carney read earlier versions of this book and offer fruitful suggestions for improvement and for their encouragement of the project. Finally, and above all, I am indebted to those who guided this work throughout its development since 2009. To Peter Eckersall, for his tireless dedication to my research and for sending it in new and exciting directions. To Denise Varney for sparking my interest in Brecht as an undergraduate and giving me the privilege of such a long mentorship that has opened up the world to new ways of seeing and being that have made me a better Marxist and a better feminist. I feel incredibly grateful to have had the benefi t of their knowledge and friendships. This book would not have been possible without the support of my fam- ily, my parents Gill and Peter, my brother Hallam as well as Estelle, Anna, Lachie, Rosemary, Ian and Joyce who provided so much love, patience, enthusiasm and unstinting support in all its forms. Finally, thanks to my partner Eddie Paterson who is my most indefatigable editor and cham- pion, and who helps me see the utopian potential in every late capitalist contradiction. Excerpts from S even Jewish Children : A Play for Gaza copyright © 2009 Caryl Churchill Ltd, permission courtesy of Nick Hern Books. Excerpts from I raq.doc © by Caryl Churchill permissions granted by Caryl Churchill. All rights whatsoever in this play are strictly reserved and appli- cation for performance etc., must be made before rehearsal to Casarotto Ramsay & Associates Ltd., 7–12 Noel Street, London W1F 8GQ (rights@ casarotto.co.uk). No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained. Excerpts from H omebody/Kabul copyright © 2002 Tony Kushner, published by Theatre Communications Group. Used by permis- sion of Theatre Communications Group. Excerpt from ‘Laura Bush Hits Broadway: Review’ by Rebecca Traister copyright © 2004 published in Salon.com used with permission by S alon.com . All rights reserved. Every effort has been made to contact rights holders prior to publication. C ONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 2 Performing the ‘War on Terror’ 9 3 From Epic to Dialectical Theatre 1 9 4 Tony Kushner’s Homebody/Kabul and Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall be Unhappy 51 5 The Théâtre du Soleil’s Le Dernier Caravansérail 9 1 6 Caryl Churchill’s Iraq.doc and Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza 1 25 7 Elfriede Jelinek’s Bambiland 169 ix
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