Theatre Without Borders

Who are the artists who are currently invigorating Canadian theatre? They are the artists who come to the theatre through the "back door" -- eccentrics, absurdists, puppeteers, clowns, raconteurs, and solo performance artists who are looking at our place in the world through physical comedy, satire, subversive humour, ingenuity. Their creations are generous, inventive and always infused with a high level of virtuosity. Much of this work is "borderless" -- that is to say it breaks down the borders between the public and performer -- mocking our preoccupations and pretensions, communicating stories with images, allusion, metaphor and unforgettable characters that fully engage the audience. The artists profiled in this lively book have toured their works extensively, have performed to audiences around the globe to great acclaim and have influenced young performers through teaching and performance. Through in-depth interviews, photographs and representative texts, readers are also given the opportunity to be introduced to an astounding cross-section of influential English and French Canadian performance artists who are truly creating theatre without borders.

Is there a fundamental connection between New York's Elevator Repair Service's 9-hour production of The Great Gatsby and a Kathakali performance? How can we come to appreciate the slowness of Kabuki theatre as much as the pace of the Whatsapp theatre of post-Arab Spring Turkey? Can we go beyond our own culture's contemporary definition of a 'good play' and think about the theatre in a deep and pluralistic manner? Drawing on his extensive experience working with theatre artists, students and thinkers across the globe - up to and including an hour-long audience with the Dalai Lama - playwright Abhishek Majumdar considers why we make theatre and how we see it in different parts of the world. His own work has taken him from theatre in Japan to dance companies in the Phillippines, writers in Lebanon and Palestine, theatre groups in Burkina Faso, war-torn areas like Kashmir and North Eastern India, and to China and Tibet, Argentina and Mexico. Via a far-reaching and provocative collection of essays that is informed by this wealth of experience, Majumdar explores: - how different cultures conceive theatre and how the norm of one place is the experiment of another; - the ways in which theatre across the world mirrors its socio political and philosophical climate; - how, for thousands of years, theatre has been a tool to both disrupt and to heal; - and how, even within the many differences, there are universals from which we can all learn and how theatre does cross borders Of interest to theatre makers everywhere - be they writers, actors, directors or designers - this book offers an oversight, as well as interrogation, into the place of theatre in the world today.

"Is there a fundamental connection between New York's Elevator Repair Service's 9-hour production of The Great Gatsby and a Kathakali performance? How can we come to appreciate the slowness of Kabuki theatre as much as the pace of the Whatsapp theatre of post-Arab Spring Turkey? Can we go beyond our own culture's contemporary definition of a 'good play' and think about the theatre in a deep and pluralistic manner? Drawing on his extensive experience working with theatre artists, students and thinkers across the globe - up to and including an hour-long audience with the Dalai Lama - playwright Abhishek Majumdar considers why we make theatre and how we see it in different parts of the world. His own work has taken him from theatre in Japan to dance companies in the Phillippines, writers in Lebanon and Palestine, theatre groups in Burkina Faso, war-torn areas like Kashmir and North Eastern India, and to China and Tibet, Argentina and Mexico. Via a far-reaching and provocative collection of essays that is informed by this wealth of experience, Majumdar explores: - how different cultures conceive theatre and how the norm of one place is the experiment of another; - the ways in which theatre across the world mirrors its socio political and philosophical climate; - how, for thousands of years, theatre has been a tool to both disrupt and to heal; - and how, even within the many differences, there are universals from which we can all learn and how theatre does cross borders Of interest to theatre makers everywhere - be they writers, actors, directors or designers - this book offers an oversight, as well as interrogation, into the place of theatre in the world today"--

This exciting new title in the Theatre And series explores how theatre and the environment have informed and continue to inform each other, considering both what theatre can do for the environment and what the environment can do for theatre. Drawing on a diverse range of case studies from writers and theatre-makers, Vicky Angelaki encourages a sense of responsibility towards the environment and examines how it is being handled by artists and performers in our time. Timely and topical, this concise introduction is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate students of theatre and performance studies with an interest in the environment, contemporary theatre-making or site-specific performance.

The first ever companion to theatre and science brings together research on key topics, performances, and new areas of interest.

"Describes peacebuilding performances in different regions of the world fractured by war and violence."--Provided by publisher.

This book provides a meticulous examination of the work of playwright Robert Serumaga and the Golden Age of Uganda’s theatre (1968-1978). It considers the question of individualism—or its extreme form, solipsism—on the one hand, and activism or a social conscience on the other. Theatrical innovation is another key concern. It deconstructs the ruling histories, historiography and performance analysis of the time as irremediably tainted by a ferocious post-independence nation-statism. This is a study of a theatre of commitment, dissidence, resistance, resilience, struggle, signification and survival; a theatre born under the unrelenting glare of severe, scorching censorship, and incarceration. For the very first time, Serumaga’s work is examined in its entirety and afforded the room, complexity and scope it requires and deserves. For the very first time, too, scholars of the Golden Age of Uganda’s theatre will have to make no more than a single stop in their search for what were hitherto scattered tidbits and sources of Uganda’s theatre history.

Analysing major Irish dramas and the artists and companies that performed them, Modern Irish Theatre provides an engaging and accessible introduction to twentieth-century Irish theatre: its origins, dominant themes, relationship to politics and culture, and influence on theatre movements around the world. By looking at her subject as a performance rather than a literary phenomenon, Trotter captures how Irish theatre has actively reflected and shaped debates about Irish culture and identity among audiences, artists, and critics for over a century. This text provides the reader with discussion and analysis of: Significant playwrights and companies, from Lady Gregory to Brendan Behan to Marina Carr, and from the Abbey Theatre to the Lyric Theatre to Field Day; Major historical events, including the war for Independence, the Troubles, and the social effects of the Celtic Tiger economy; Critical Methodologies: how postcolonial, diaspora, performance, gender, and cultural theories, among others, shed light on Irish theatre’s political and artistic significance, and how it has addressed specific national concerns. Because of its comprehensiveness and originality, Modern Irish Theatre will be of great interest to students and general readers interested in theatre studies, cultural studies, Irish studies, and political performance.