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This volume analyzes the relationship between performance and politics through the concept and experience of terror. The book is divided into six chapters that analyze performances and theatre during the first decade of the 21st century within the framework of the so-called War on Terror. The first three chapters provide a theoretical introduction, paying particular attention to the concepts of critical mimesis and waste, and focusing on radical performances of violence such as the 2004 video beheadings in Iraq and counterterrorist tactics used by British forces in Northern Ireland. The second part of the book is divided into three further chapters looking at theatrical, activist, and community-based performances that respond to the political and social pressures of the War on Terror. These include an analysis of verbatim political theatre in London such as the work of the Tricycle Theatre, David Hare, Michael Frayn, and Mark Ravenhill, among others; antiwar camps and street protests in London and New York; and community performances commissioned by counterterrorism agencies in the UK following the bombings of July 2005. The book will provide a valuable resource for scholars interested in the way performance studies problematizes the idea of terror as articulated by Anglo-American foreign and domestic policies.
Performance in Place of War provides a contemporary transnational analysis of theatre and performance practices across different communities affected by war, armed conflict, and other forms of organized violence. From a playwright on a hunger strike in Northern Ireland to refugee theatre in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the book draws on a rich archive of case studies, interviews, and ethnographic accounts to further understand and detail the way theatre and performance are always present in wars as tethered cultural processes with varying inflammatory and ameliorative effects. The majority of the book focuses on performances occurring between 2004 and 2007 in Africa and Asia, with a particular focus on former British colonies, as well as conflicts and refugee communities in Europe and the UK. The volume is assembled in five chapters as an "organized scrapbook" based on ideas of "time" and "space/place." Chapter 1 focuses on performances that occur during intense conflict, such as the Butterfly Peace Garden during the Sri Lankan civil war and the Laughter Under the Bombs project during the 2006 bombing of Beirut. Chapter 2 looks at theatre practices by groups displaced by war; these include refugee performances such as the Exodus Festival in Manchester, the work of the Kwoto Cultural Centre in Sudan, and the Arab-Hebrew Theatre of Jaffa in Israel. Through specific examples in Sri Lanka, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi, chapter 3 explores theatre practice during periods of temporary ceasefire and peace negotiations. Chapter 4 looks at work that strives to rebuild a sense of identity, peace, and community in the aftermath of war, such as the Mashirika Creative and Performing Arts Group in Rwanda and the theatre tours of Northern Ireland. Finally, by looking at the Lysistrata Project in the United States and the performance of This Is Camp X-Ray by the Manchester-based UHC Collective, among others, chapter 5 integrates other forms of theatre practice that question, resist, and engage with war beyond sites of conflict. [End Page 194]
Daniela Cavallaro's critical anthology provides historical and biographical information on four of the most prominent Italian women playwrights in the first half of the 20th century. Each of the four chapters begins with a critical introduction to the personal, professional, and social context of each playwright's work followed by a full new translation of a representative play. The book is ordered chronologically starting with the work of Paola Riccora (1884-1976) and her comedy It Must Have Been Giovannino (1933). Chapter 2...
