ABSTRACT

The Radical in Performance investigates the crisis in contemporary theatre, and celebrates the subversive in performance. It is the first full-length study to explore the link between a western theatre which, says Kershaw, is largely outdated and the blossoming of postmodern performance, much of which has a genuinely radical edge. In staying focused on the period between Brecht and Baudrillard, modernity and postmodernism, Baz Kershaw identifies crucial resources for the revitalisation of the radical across a wide spectrum of cultural practices.
This is a timely, necessary and rigorous book. It will be a compelling read for anyone searching for a critical catalyst for new ways of viewing and practising cultural politics.

chapter |3 pages

Prologue

Radicalising performance

chapter |22 pages

Introduction

Pathologies of hope

part I|60 pages

Theatre and performance

chapter 1|28 pages

The limits of theatre

chapter 2|30 pages

The excesses of performance

part II|130 pages

Performance, participation, power

chapter 3|37 pages

Fighting in the streets

Performance, protest and politics

chapter 4|31 pages

The shadow of oppression

Performance, the panopticon and ethics

chapter 5|30 pages

The death of nostalgia

Performance, memory and genetics

chapter 6|30 pages

The sight of the blind

Performance, community and ecology

chapter |4 pages

Epilogue

The radical in performance