Examines how the politics of the theater can illuminate the theatricality of politics

Theatricality is often dismissed as a distraction from “real” politics, as when cynical political gestures are derided as “pure theater” or “only theater.” But the artists and theater companies discussed in this book, including Back to Back Theatre, Tim Crouch, Rabih Mroué, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, and Christoph Schlingensief, take a different approach. Theron Schmidt argues that they represent a “theatricalist turn” that explores and tests the conditions of the theater itself. Across diverse contexts of political engagement, ranging from disability rights to representations of violence, these theatrical conditions are interconnected with political struggles, such as those over who is seen and heard, how labor is valued, and what counts as “political” in the first place. In a so-called post-political era, The Theatricalists argues that an examination of theater’s internal politics can expand our understanding of the theatricality of politics more broadly.

THERON SCHMIDT is an assistant professor in the Department of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University.

Introducing the Line-Up  
Chapter 1. Minimal Theater: Making the Audience Appear
Chapter 2. Engaged Theater: Making the Work Appear
Chapter 3. Real Theater: Making the Actor Appear
Chapter 4. Political Theater: Making the Public Appear
Coda: Acknowledgment 
Notes
Bibliography 
Index