Theatricality, Playtexts and Society

The Element proposes a novel way of defining, understanding, and approaching theatricality, arguing that four foundational, material processes of theatre-making manifest themselves in all playtexts in both overt and covert forms. It concludes with a supplementary reflection on performance to show how even seemingly untheatrical playtexts can be analysed and staged to reveal their unspoken theatricality.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 82 pages
Publication date: 06 June 2024
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The Element proposes a novel approach to defining, understanding, and approaching theatricality, a term that exists both in the theatre and in everyday life. It argues that four foundational, material processes of theatre-making manifest themselves in all playtexts in both overt and covert forms. Each of the four sections defines a different theatrical process, explores its functions in two chosen playtexts, and examines its implications for the wider experience of spectators outside the theatre. The Element concludes with a supplementary reflection on performance to show how even seemingly untheatrical playtexts can be analysed and staged to reveal their unspoken theatricality. It also argues that this new understanding of theatricality has a politics, that the artifice of any theatre and the constructedness of any society are analogous, and that both can be fundamentally changed. This Element is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

ISBN-13: 9781009506281