Authenticity in Contemporary Theatre and Performance Make it Real [Paperback]

Authenticity is one of the major values of our time. It is visible everywhere, from clothing to food to self-help books. While it is such a prevalent phenomenon, it is also very evasive. This study analyses the 'culture of authenticity' as it relates to theatre and establishes a theoretical framework for analysis. Daniel Schulz argues that authenticity is sought out and marked by the individual and springs from a culture that is perceived as inherently fake and lacking depth. The study examines three types of performances that exemplify this structure of feeling: intimate theatre seen in Forced Entertainment productions such asQuizoola!(1996, 2015), as well as one-on-one performances, such as Oentroerend Goed'sInternal(2009); immersive theatres as illustrated by Punchdrunk's showsThe Masque of the Red Death(2007) andThe Drowned Man(2013) which provide a visceral, sensate understanding for audiences; finally, the study scrutinises the popular category of documentary theatre through various examples such as Robin Soan'sTalking to Terrorists(2005), David Hare'sStuff Happens(2004), Edmund Burke'sBlack Watch(2007) and Dennis Kelly's pseudo-documentary playTaking Care of Baby(2007). It is specifically the value of the document that lends such performances their truth-value and consequently their authenticity.

The study analyses how the success of these disparate categories of performance can be explained through a common concern with notions of truth and authenticity. It argues that this hunger for authentic, unmediated experience is characteristic of a structure of feeling that has superseded postmodernism and that actively seeks to resignify artistic and cultural practices of the everyday.