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

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  • Category: Books (Performing Arts)
  • Author:  Schulze, Daniel
  • Author:  Schulze, Daniel
  • ISBN-10:  1350086657
  • ISBN-10:  1350086657
  • ISBN-13:  9781350086654
  • ISBN-13:  9781350086654
  • Publisher:  Methuen Drama
  • Publisher:  Methuen Drama
  • Pages:  296
  • Pages:  296
  • Binding:  Paperback
  • Binding:  Paperback
  • Pub Date:  01-Jul-2018
  • Pub Date:  01-Jul-2018
  • SKU:  1350086657-11-MPOD
  • SKU:  1350086657-11-MPOD
  • Item ID: 102428462
  • Seller: ShopSpell
  • Ships in: 2 business days
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  • Delivery by: Mar 17 to Mar 19
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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 It argues that this hunger for authentic, unmediated experience is characteristic of a structure of feeling that has superseded postmodernism and that actively seeks to resignify artistic and cultural practices of the everyday.

Daniel Schulzeis a teaching fellow in English Literature and Culture at the University of W?rzburg, Germany. He combines artistic practice with scholarly research and teaching, and has worked in professional l#
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