The Radical in Performance: Between Brecht and Baudrillard PDF
Preview The Radical in Performance: Between Brecht and Baudrillard
The Radical in Performance The Radical in Performance interrogates the crisis in contemporary theatre and celebrates the subversive in performance. It is the first full-length study to explore the link between a Western theatre culture, which, says Kershaw, is largely 'past its sell-by date', and the blossoming of perfor mance in the post-modern, much of which has a genuinely radical and democratic edge. In staying determinedly poised between Brecht and Baudrillard, moder nity and post-modernity, Baz Kershaw identifies crucial resources for the revitalisation of the radical across a wide spectrum of cultural practices. He asks 'what next?', once political theatre is all but dead, smothered by the promiscuity of the political in post-modern culture. This is a timely, necessary and rigorous book. It will be compelling reading for anyone searching for a critical catalyst for new ways of viewing and doing cultural politics. Baz Kershaw is Professor of Drama at the Department of Drama, University of Bristol. He is the author of The Politics if Performance (Routledge 1992). This page intentionally left blank The Radical in Performance Between Brecht and Baudrillard Baz Kershaw i ~ ~~o~;!~n~~~up LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 1999 by Routledge Published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, axon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1999 Baz Kershaw The right of Baz Kershaw to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 Typeset in Baskerville by Routledge All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Kershaw, Baz. The radical in performance: between Brecht and Baudrillard I Baz Kershaw. Includes bibliographical references and index. I. Theatre - political aspects. I. Title. PN 1643.K47 1999 98-55479 792'.0904-dc21 CIP ISBN 13: 978-0-415-18667-4 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-18668-1 (pbk) For Francis Cammaerts, freedom fighter, world union leader, teacher and to the memory of David Sample, 1944-96, champion of justice This page intentionally left blank Just because everything is different, doesn't mean anything has changed. Southern Californian Oracle This page intentionally left blank Contents List if illustrations Xl Acknowledgements Xlll Prologue: radicalising performance Introduction: pathologies of hope 5 PART I Theatre and performance: on the cusp of a paradigm shift 27 The limits of theatre 29 2 The excesses of performance 57 PART II Performance, participation, power 87 3 Fighting in the streets: performance, protest and politics 89 4 The shadow of oppression: performance, the panopticon and ethics 126 5 The death of nostalgia: performance, memory and genetics 157 6 The sight of the blind: performance, community and ecology 187
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