Theory/Theatre: An introduction by Mark Fortier (review)

Reviews MARK FORTIER. TheOlylTheatre: Alllnlrodllction. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2002. Pp. 266. $19.95 (Pb). Reviewed by Robin Nelson, Manchester Metropolitan University The oblique stroke apparently marking a binary separation between "theory" and "thealre" in the title of Mark Fortier's book belies an approach which points up connections between a range of theoretical perspectives and theatrical practices. Though it offers some examples, the book is less concerned with theatre praxis (theory imbricated within practice) than with "theories that come from outside theatre" (7). Fortier proposes to illustrate how the latter may be applied in the field of Theatre Studies. Strengths of the book are its openness to differing, and at times conflicting, theories and its strategy to point out the several ways in which a given theory might work through a theatre text or performance. Eschewing any specific theoretical stance, Fortier appropriately acknowledges in a "Who is Speaking?" section at the outset of the book that no writer is innocent of a discursive position. His refreshing acknowledgement in addition that ",tlhere are many things, theoretical and political, about which I remain, and perhaps will always remain, uncertain" (15) sets the tone of sharing a journey with prospective readers, The approach throughout is thus "dialogic " (in Bakhtin's sense, see 16t), not one of theoretical imperialism, But having acknowledged his allegiance in part to a rigorous deconstruction, Fortier does not obfuscate with a litany of qualifying remarks or evasions, Indeed, what will be of real value to students in this book is the clear articulation of complex ideas with some felicity of phrasing. In unpacking key concepts of such complex thinkers as Lacan, and Deleuze and Guattari, Fortier writes with the clarity of someone who, in fe-articulating Modern Drama, 46:1 (Spring 2003) 122 Reviews 123 in their own well-chosen words, demonstrates a firm conceptual grasp. Though there are inevitably simplifications in summarising the thought of a major theorist sometimes in onc sentence, the thumbnail sketches are particularly good (see, for example, Ihe discussion of Adorno, t56). The point of this "introduction" is. after all, to assist students in getting a purchase on concepts which will allow them to return to the primary texts with a sense of confidence rather than discouraging bafflement (as distinct from Spivak's "productive bafflement" Iqtd. in Fortier 1951). The notion of "empowerment" in learning is used rather too freely these days, but Fortier's book genuinely offers to empower students of theatre and performance to engage in praxis as well as in more traditional conceptual debate. Too often, theory-centred books fail to locate their specific perspective in a broader conceptual context. Claims, for example, that theatrical events might "de-centre" subjectivity fail to acknowledge that "to be a subject" might denote, on the one hand, "a doer capable of independent action and self-direction " and, on the other hand, "something other than free or autonomous" (83). Fortier foregrounds the contradictions between differing uses of the very same terms and, in so doing, probes implicit assumptions, for example, that "agency" is possible or that the "de-centring of subjectivity" is a good or bad thing. As the book progresses, Fortier is able to convey a sense of the ways in which theories do not operate neatly in isolation but instead inform each other. In introducing reader-response and reception theory, for example, he rehearses the applications of the theoretical positions of phenomenology and of Barthes and Derrida discussed earlier in the book as they might impact upon an approach to reception. The clear laying out of different positions and the pointing up of the richness of their interrelations is aided by talking through themes with reference to specific examples. Fortier is most comfortable with applying theory to theatre productions based in literary drama ranging from Chekhov to Churchill, but he also touches on contemporary performance, for example. the autobiographical work of Spalding Grey and the "border pedagogy" of Boal, Fusco, and G6mez-Peiia, where the theory is built into the practice. Fortier cannot avoid some difficulties here, since in expounding a text, production, or event, he inevitably gives his reading, whereas the implication of Derrida's notion of iterability, as he tells...