Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance

Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance explores how Becketts plays have attracted a range of disability performances, highlighting previously undetected indicators of disability and interrogating alternative embodiments and agency.

Format: Hardback
Length: 229 pages
Publication date: 21 August 2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

Becketts plays have garnered a remarkable array of disability performances, which involve casting disabled actors, even when their roles are not explicitly labeled as 'disabled' in the text. This exploration delves into the historical context of disability performance in Becketts work and proposes a fresh perspective on his treatment of the impaired body. Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance examines four contemporary disability performances of Becketts plays, staged in the UK and US, fostering a mutually enriching dialogue between Beckett studies and disability studies. Through original interviews with the actors and directors involved, as well as critical analysis rooted in recent disability and performance theory, this book uncovers how these productions highlight or reinterpret previously unnoticed indicators of disability in Becketts writings. Moreover, it sheds light on Becketts theatre's relentless interrogation of alternative embodiments, unexpected forms of agency, and the profound social interconnectedness of the human body.

This book has been recognized with the TaPRA David Bradby Monograph Prize, 2023, attesting to its significant contributions to the field.

Weight: 442g
Dimension: 155 x 217 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031041327
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022