Theatre and War: Theatrical Responses since 1991

253 Pages·2012·2.478 MB·English

by  Jeanne Colleran

Theatre and War
99778811113377000066229955__0011__pprreexx..iinndddd ii 77//1122//22001122 55::4400::3355 PPMM
WHAT IS THEATRE?
Edited by Ann C. Hall
G iven the changing nature of audiences, entertainment, and media, the role of the-
atre in twenty-first century culture is changing. The WHAT IS THEATRE? series
brings new and innovative work in literary, cultural, and dramatic criticism into
conversation with established theatre texts and trends, in order to offer fresh inter-
pretations and highlight new or undervalued artists, works, and trends.
ANN C. HALL has published widely in the area of theatre and film studies, is presi-
dent of the Harold Pinter Society, and is an active member in the Modern Language
Association. In addition to her book A Kind of Alaska: Women in the Plays of O’Neill,
Pinter, and Shepard, she has edited a collection of essays, M aking the Stage: Essays on
Theatre, Drama, and Performance . Hall is also the author of a book on the various
stage, film, print, and television versions of Gaston Leroux’s P hantom of the Opera ,
Phantom Variations: The Adaptations of Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera, 1925
to the Present .
Published by Palgrave Macmillan:
Theatre, Communication, Critical Realism
By Tobin Nellhaus
Staging Modern American Life: Popular Culture in the Experimental Theatre of Millay,
Cummings, and Dos Passos
By Thomas Fahy
Authoring Performance: The Director in Contemporary Theatre
By Avra Sidiropoulou
Readings in Performance and Ecology
Edited by Wendy Arons and Theresa J. May
Theatre and War: Theatrical Responses since 1991
By Jeanne Colleran
99778811113377000066229955__0011__pprreexx..iinndddd iiii 77//1122//22001122 55::4400::3366 PPMM
Theatre and War
Theatrical Responses since 1991
J C
EANNE OLLERAN
99778811113377000066229955__0011__pprreexx..iinndddd iiiiii 77//1122//22001122 55::4400::3377 PPMM
THEATRE AND WAR
Copyright © Jeanne Colleran, 2012.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2012 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978–1–137–00629–5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Colleran, Jeanne M. (Jeanne Marie), 1954–
Theatre and war : theatrical responses since 1991 / Jeanne Colleran.
p. cm.—(What is theatre?)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978–1–137–00629–5 (alk. paper)
1. War and theater. 2. War in literature. 3. Press and journalism
in literature. 4. Political plays, American—History and criticism.
5. Political plays, English—History and criticism. 6. Theater—Political
aspects—United States. 7. Theater—Political aspects—Great Britain.
8. War in mass media. 9. War—Press coverage. I. Title. II. Title: Theater
and war.
PN2041.W37C65 2012
809.2(cid:2)93581—dc23 2012010460
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: September 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.

99778811113377000066229955__0011__pprreexx..iinndddd iivv 77//1122//22001122 55::4400::3377 PPMM
To Richard
Tá grá agam duit
To James and Julia
Ná bíodh amhras ort choíche faoi sin, is tusa
mo chroí agus mo shaol .
99778811113377000066229955__0011__pprreexx..iinndddd vv 77//1122//22001122 55::4400::3377 PPMM
This page intentionally left blank
99778811113377000088883311__0011__pprreexx..iinndddd vvii 77//2200//22001122 1111::2244::3399 AAMM
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Spectator of Calamities 1
1 Five Political Crises: The New Semiotic Environment 1 3
2 Turning History into Happening: The First Iraq War 2 9
3 The Persians 5 7
4 From the Ruins of 9/11: Grief and Terror 8 7
5 Facing Terror 1 05
6 War Documents 1 31
7 Bodies Count: In/Visible Scandal at Guantanamo and
Abu Ghraib 1 69
8 Afghanistan and “the Spectacle of Our Suffering” 1 99
Notes 215
Works Cited 2 23
Index 2 37
99778811113377000066229955__0011__pprreexx..iinndddd vviiii 77//1122//22001122 55::4400::3377 PPMM
This page intentionally left blank
99778811113377000088883311__0011__pprreexx..iinndddd vvii 77//2200//22001122 1111::2244::3399 AAMM
Acknowledgments
What else is love but recognition?
—Tony Kushner, Homebody/Kabul
My mother, Regina Colleran, gave me the great gift of reading, and
my father, William Colleran, gave me a deep love of music. These gifts and
their love have immeasurably enriched my life. My dear brothers, James,
William, Daniel, and Robert, have given me affection and affectionate
deflation in equal measure. I am also very lucky to have many kind rela-
tives—Collerans and Weavers—who are too numerous to mention but on
whose support I have relied.
I am also thankful for good friends, especially Sheila Haney, Brenda
Wirkus, Maryclaire Moroney, Ellen Grace, Marcia Blumberg, Jenny Spencer,
Katherine Burkman, Peggy Finucane, Tom Hayes, Graciela Lacueva, Pam
Mason, Nick Santilli, Rose Nicholson, Peter Kvidera, Deb Straneiro, Jill
Fulton, Karen Clifford, Mark Storz, James Krukones, and Mary Rycyna.
Special thanks to Ann Hall for her support throughout this project, and
to Nicole Garner for her assistance. Sincere thanks to my many generous
colleagues at John Carroll University, but especially in the dean’s office and
the AVP’s office. I want to recognize Bernadette Sferry and Tina Guzik and
to thank John Day, provost, and Robert Niehoff, S. J., president, for their
support of my work.
My children, James Weaver and Julia Weaver, make me glad and proud
and hopeful. I carry you in my heart.
And to Richard Weaver: my deepest love and deepest thanks.
99778811113377000066229955__0011__pprreexx..iinndddd iixx 77//1122//22001122 55::4400::3388 PPMM