ABSTRACT
This chapter turns the tables by looking at plays whose writers have overtly expressed a desire to effect change through theatre, and who also take theatre and performance as their subject matter. Thus, this chapter focuses on plays that are highly self-reflexive, asking as their main question: can theatre really change the world? By analysing how Youssef Idris’s Al-Farafir, Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, and Frank McGuinness’s Carthaginians address the transformative potential of the performative act and the way it can become politicized, this chapter provides insight into what constitutes a more efficacious theatre.
