1st Edition

The Dramatic Society Essays on Contemporary Performance and Political Theory

By Klaas Tindemans Copyright 2023
252 Pages 32 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

252 Pages 32 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

252 Pages 32 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

All societies are, by their very nature, dramatic. They present themselves, especially for those who want to look back in time, as a fascinating and confusing whole of theatrical events and constructions. Sometimes the theatre itself succeeds in capturing that fascination and confusion. This book describes the dramatic society in the form of case studies that link politics, history and culture.... Read more

1. The Horrible Return of the Heroines: Antigone and Medea in Performance in the Aftermath of 9/11  2. Political Explosion, Bodily Implosion: Ivo van Hove, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and Their Alternative Shakespeares  3. A Caricature of Totalitarianism: Bertold Brecht and His Vulnerable Working Through of the Third Reich  4. Anatomy of a Genocide: Theatre About Rwanda, 1994 by Groupov, Milo Rau, and Others  5. The Wounded German Body: Christoph Schlingensief and the Scars of Postwar (Re)united Germany  6. The European Frontier: Thomas Bellinck’s Museum of Failures, and Other Imaginary Europes  7. The Temperament of the Judge: The Dispute Between Ai Weiwei and Chinese Authorities, Reenacted  8. Document, Drama, and Orientalism: Laila Soliman and Her Precarious Theatre of the Revolution  9. Truth, Justice, and Performative Knowledge: Chokri Ben Chikha, Truth Commissions, and (Neo)colonial Injustices  10. Revolution, Body, Language: Post-Communist Nostalgia in the Theatre of Willem de Wolf

Biography

Klaas Tindemans is head of research at the Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound (RITCS) in Brussels. He teaches dramaturgy and political theory at RITCS, and cultural history at the Royal Conservatoire Brussels (KCB) and is a researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).