Theatricality

This collection of specially-commissioned, accessible, essays explores that element of performance theory known as theatricality.

Tracy C. Davis (Edited by), Thomas Postlewait (Edited by)

9780521812696, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 February 2004

256 pages, 2 b/w illus.
22.4 x 14.4 x 2.2 cm, 0.454 kg

'This new collection of essays, part of the Theatre and Performance Theory series, is a stimulating, erudite, and important volume in the emerging field of theatricality. … This collection is smart, timely, and, thanks to the sophistication of the contributions, will inform wider debates about historiography, theory, and performance practice as well as setting out important questions and agendas in the field of theatricality.' New Theatre Quarterly

This collection of specially-commissioned, accessible, essays explores that element of performance theory known as theatricality. Six case studies, each written by a specialist in the field, use historically specific circumstances to illustrate how and why the concept of theatricality was and is used. Topics discussed include early use of the term; employment of 'theatricality' by a number of other disciplines to describe events; non-Western interpretation of theatricality; and its use when discussing and analyzing political and cultural events and philosophies. The book provides a first-step guide for those discovering the complex yet rewarding world of performance theory.

Acknowledgements
Notes on contributors
List of illustrations
1. Theatricality: an introduction Thomas Postlewait and Tracy C. Davis
2. Performing miracles: the mysterious mimesis of Valenciennes (1547) Jody Enders
3. Theatricality in classical Chinese drama Haiping Yan
4. Theatricality and antitheatricality in Renaissance London Thomas Postlewait
5. Theatricality and civil society Tracy C. Davis
6. Defining political performance with Foucault and Habermas: strategic and communicative action Jon Erickson
7. Theatricality's proper objects: genealogies of performance and gender theory Shannon Jackson
Works cited
Index.

Subject Areas: Theatre studies [AN]