World Theories of Theatre expands the horizons of theatrical theory beyond the West, providing the tools essential for a truly global approach to theatre. Identifying major debates in theatrical theory from around the world, combining discussions of the key theoretical questions facing theatre studies with extended excerpts from primary materials, specific primary materials, case studies and coverage of Southern Africa, the Caribbean, North Africa and the Middle East, Oceania, Latin America, East Asia, and India. The volume is divided into three sections: Theoretical questions, which applies cross-cultural perspectives to key issues from aesthetics to postcolonialism, interculturalism, and globalization. Cultural and literary theory, which is organised by region, presenting a range of theatrical theories in their historical and cultural context. Practical exercises, which provides a brief series of suggestions for physical exploration of these theoretical concepts. World Theories of Theatre presents fresh, vital ways of thinking about the theatre, highlighting the extraordinary diversity of approaches available to scholars and students of theatre studies. This volume includes theoretical excerpts from: Zeami Motokiyo Bharata Muni Wole Soyinka Femi Osofisan Uptal Dutt Saadallah Wannous Enrique Buenaventura Derek Walcott Werewere Liking Maryrose Casey Augusto Boal Tadashi Suzuki Jiao Juyin Oriza Hirata Gao Xingjian Roma Potiki Poile Sengupta

World Theories of Theatre expands the horizons of theatrical theory beyond the West, providing the tools essential for a truly global approach to theatre. Identifying major debates in theatrical theory from around the world, combining discussions of the key theoretical questions facing theatre studies with extended excerpts from primary materials, specific primary materials, case studies and coverage of Southern Africa, the Caribbean, North Africa and the Middle East, Oceania, Latin America, East Asia, and India. The volume is divided into three sections: Theoretical questions, which applies cross-cultural perspectives to key issues from aesthetics to postcolonialism, interculturalism, and globalization. Cultural and literary theory, which is organised by region, presenting a range of theatrical theories in their historical and cultural context. Practical exercises, which provides a brief series of suggestions for physical exploration of these theoretical concepts. World Theories of Theatre presents fresh, vital ways of thinking about the theatre, highlighting the extraordinary diversity of approaches available to scholars and students of theatre studies. This volume includes theoretical excerpts from: Zeami Motokiyo Bharata Muni Wole Soyinka Femi Osofisan Uptal Dutt Saadallah Wannous Enrique Buenaventura Derek Walcott Werewere Liking Maryrose Casey Augusto Boal Tadashi Suzuki Jiao Juyin Oriza Hirata Gao Xingjian Roma Potiki Poile Sengupta

Over the last few centuries, the world as we know it has seen remarkable change and the arts – including theatre – have faced new challenges. Theatre is now no longer a simple point of entertainment laced with instruction or dissent, but is perceived as a more collaborative idea that looks at ever-changing paradigms. All over the world, theatre now is a dynamic process that simultaneously retains tradition and delves into extreme experimentations. This book represents a starting point for a much-needed critical interrogation. It looks at the constant features of European theatre and brings in some Indian elements, positing both in their respective locations, as well as looking at the symbiosis that has been functioning for some time.

This lively textbook provides a comprehensive overview of the history, theory and practice of this popular theatre form. Bringing critical theory and musical theatre together, Millie Taylor and Dominic Symonds explore the musical stage from a broad range of theoretical perspectives. Part 1 focuses on the way we understand musicals as texts and Part 2 then looks at how musical theatre negotiates its position in the wider world. Part 3 recognises the affiliations of various communities with the musical stage, and finally part 4 unravels the musical's relationship with time, space, intertextuality and entertainment. Written by leading experts in Musical Theatre and Drama, Taylor and Symonds utilise their wealth of knowledge to engage and educate the reader on this diverse subject. With its accessible and extensive content, this text is the ideal accompaniment to any study of musical theatre internationally: an essential tool for students of all levels, lecturers, practitioners and enthusiasts alike.

This is a new and enlarged edition of Mark Fortier's very successful and widely used essential text for students. Theory/Theatre provides a unique and engaging introduction to literary theory as it relates to theatre and performance. Fortier lucidly examines current theoretical approaches, from semiotics, poststructuralism, through cultural materialism, postcolonial studies and feminist theory. This new edition includes: * More detailed explanation of key ideas * New 'Putting it into practice' sections at the end of each chapter so you can approach performances from specific theoretical perspectives * Annotated further reading section and glossary. Theory/Theatre is still the only study of its kind and is invaluable reading for beginning students and scholars of performance studies.

Evolutionary theory made its stage debut as early as the 1840s, reflecting a scientific advancement that was fast changing the world. Tracing this development in dozens of mainstream European and American plays, as well as in circus, vaudeville, pantomime, and "missing link" performances, Theatre and Evolution from Ibsen to Beckett reveals the deep, transformative entanglement among science, art, and culture in modern times. The stage proved to be no mere handmaiden to evolutionary science, though, often resisting and altering the ideas at its core. Many dramatists cast suspicion on the arguments of evolutionary theory and rejected its claims, even as they entertained its thrilling possibilities. Engaging directly with the relation of science and culture, this book considers the influence of not only Darwin but also Lamarck, Chambers, Spencer, Wallace, Haeckel, de Vries, and other evolutionists on 150 years of theater. It shares significant new insights into the work of Ibsen, Shaw, Wilder, and Beckett, and writes female playwrights, such as Susan Glaspell and Elizabeth Baker, into the theatrical record, unpacking their dramatic explorations of biological determinism, gender essentialism, the maternal instinct, and the "cult of motherhood." It is likely that more people encountered evolution at the theater than through any other art form in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Considering the liveliness and immediacy of the theater and its reliance on a diverse community of spectators and the power that entails, this book is a key text for grasping the extent of the public's adaptation to the new theory and the legacy of its representation on the perceived legitimacy (or illegitimacy) of scientific work.

Providing a clear journey through centuries of European, North and South American, African and Asian forms of theatre and performance, this introduction helps the reader think critically about this exciting field through fascinating yet plain-speaking essays and case studies.

From Aristotle's Poetics to Vaclav Havel, the debate about the nature and function of theatre has been marked by controversy. Daniel Gerould's landmark work, Theatre/Theory/Theatre, collects history's most influential Eastern and Western dramatic theorists – poets, playwrights, directors and philosophers – whose ideas about theatre continue to shape its future. In complete texts and choice excerpts spanning centuries, we see an ongoing dialogue and exchange of ideas between actors and directors like Craig and Meyerhold, and writers such as Nietzsche and Yeats. Each of Gerould's introductory essays shows fascinating insight into both the life and the theory of the author. From Horace to Soyinka, Corneille to Brecht, this is an indispensable compendium of the greatest dramatic theory ever written.

Beginning with Aristotle and the Greeks and ending with semiotics and post-structuralism, Theories of the Theatre is the first comprehensive survey of Western dramatic theory. In this expanded edition the author has updated the book and added a new concluding chapter that focuses on theoretical developments since 1980, emphasizing the impact of feminist theory.