Theatre and Protest
By (Author) Lara Shalson
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Methuen Drama
30th August 2019
United Kingdom
Professional and Scholarly
Non Fiction
Political activism / Political engagement
792
Paperback
104
Width 111mm, Height 178mm
96g
How does protest engage with theatre What does theatre have to gain from protest Theatre and protest are often closely interlinked in the contemporary cultural and political landscape, and the line between protest and performance is often difficult to draw. Yet this relationship is also beset with doubts about theatres capacity to intervene in the social world. This fresh and insightful text thinks through the intersections and tensions between theatre and protest. Exploring the cross-fertilization of international theatre and protest across the 12th and 21st centuries, Lara Shalson illuminates how and why these two are mutually influencing and enriching forms.
Filled with astute, illuminating examples - from Pussy Riot to curtain speeches at Hamilton, from guerrilla theatre to plays by Ibsen, Brecht, and Eve Ensler, and from stage to street and back - Shalsons book demonstrates how theatre offers sites and strategies with which to protest the exercise of power. Shalsons concise treatment yields insightful analysis, useful to teaching, to art-making, and to witnessing performances of resistance. * Jill Dolan, Princeton University, USA *
Lara Shalson is Lecturer in Theatre and Performance Studies at King's College London, UK.