Insights from Performance Criticism by Peter S. Perry (review)

The Insights series from Fortress Press seeks to avoid “boring books on esoteric methodology” (p. viii), and Peter Perry’s volume on performance criticism is up to the task. His work excels at providing a theoretical background to the critical methodology alongside a “do-it-yourself” manual for biblical performance. Throughout the work, P.’s candid anecdotes of his own experiences in performing biblical works underscore the impact that this approach can have on biblical interpretation. It is apparent that P. has already bridged Werner Kelber’s “Great Divide” between the written and oral media in his own teaching, preaching, and scholarship, and his work encourages readers to cross that bridge themselves (p. 158; see Kelber, The Oral and the Written Gospel: The Hermeneutics of Speaking and Writing in the Synoptic Tradition, Mark, Paul, and Q [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983]).

Chapters 1 and 2 provide the background for performance and biblical methodology and are written to appeal to those uninitiated into critical readings of texts. In chap. 1, P. defines the discipline, provides language for discussion, gives names and viewpoints of key voices in performance methodology and lays out sample scenes inspired from biblical passages that invigorate the discussion about “performance,” “performer,” and “audience” that are often overlooked in the current culture of print-text dominance.

In chap. 2, P. begins with the foundational concept of human communication and effectively challenges what he calls a “code mind-set” that implies an immutable meaning for all biblical passages. Relying on linguistic studies, P. argues that a more accurate model of human communication is “signs,” which include gestures, facial expressions, and movement, along with speech, to create meaning. He then narrows the discussion to define “performance,” imagining that a performance is a means to “embody culture” (p. 30). He explains “performance criticism” as a circular three-part process of  “imagination,” “inquiry,” and “intervention” that is readily applicable to biblical passages. Having established this schema, P. expounds upon his three-part process for performance of the Bible— “preparation,” “internalization,” and “performance,” which should compel the performer to return to “preparation” to refresh the cycle with insights gained. In true trinitarian fashion, P. also subdivides the “preparation” section of his performance into three “inquiries”—the worlds “behind the text,” “of the text,” and “in front of the text.” Within these three worlds, P. incorporates insights from no fewer than eighteen established biblical-critical methodologies, such as rhetoric and source criticism in the “world behind the text,” narrative criticism in the “world of the text,” and postcolonial and reception criticism in the “world in front of the text.”

In chaps. 3 and 4, P. illustrates his performance methodology by treating the biblical works of Habakkuk and Revelation. For each performance, P., in an intensely autobiographical and compelling fashion, leads the reader through his three-stage process. With just enough detail to expose the depth of his knowledge of the traditional critical methods that inform his preparation, and using appendixes to show his work on the preparation of the text, P. reserves the bulk of his discussion for the event of the performance itself, including the development of the introduction that precedes each of his performances. P. candidly reveals his preconceptions about the biblical works that were challenged by his preparation and performance, his surprise at the number of interpretive moves that are required by a performance, and the impact that the audience has on the performance.

In chaps. 5 and 6, L. concludes with insights from performance criticism and a vision for a way ahead. Some gems from chap. 5 include: a focus on meaning through “embodiment” of the biblical texts, which employs signs to create the most impact on the audience with the least amount of effort from the audience; the notion that meaning is made in community, beginning with the initial composition of the biblical work and with each performance thereafter; and the challenge to the primacy of the “original” text. [End Page 142...