Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Rancière and Performance (Performance Philosophy)

Jacques Rancière has been hugely influential in the field of political philosophy and aesthetics. This edited collection is the first to investigate the points of contact between the work of Rancière and the field of theatre and performance studies. Recent scholarly works in this discipline have drawn upon concepts from Rancière's writing, from theatrocracy to emancipated spectators, to investigate problems of audience, participation, politics and aesthetics. Before these concepts and critical tools peel away from the works through which they emerged, this book seeks a detailed critical assessment of the works themselves and their implications for theatre and performance studies. The collection examines the critical and analytical interventions that have been made to date and looks forward towards challenges to the future uses of Rancière's work in performance and theatre studies. It also considers a wide range of performance work, from a performance for the residents of a Victorian workhouse to the activist performances of Liberate Tate. This collection includes work by ten scholars and is an essential resource for researchers and academics working in areas of performance and aesthetics, performance and activism, and performance and philosophy. Review This timely collection of new essays provides a fascinating survey of the work of Jacques Rancière and its impact on cutting-edge thinking in theatre and performance studies. In a series of provocative and inspiring engagements, theatre and performance are offered here as sites for destabilising the hierarchies of expertise and experience, exploding myths of the passive spectator, and framing some of the most urgent political questions of our time.--Sophie Nield, senior lecturer in drama, Royal Holloway, University of LondonAlthough a decade has passed since the English publication of the Emancipated Spectator, Rancière's thought has lost none of its power to unsettle preconceptions regarding art and politics. Fryer and Conroy's timely volume proves the point. Its judicious selection of essays probe the potentialities and - yes - frustrations for theatre and performance scholars engaging with the dissensus at the heart of Rancière's project.--Tony Fisher, reader in theatre and philosophy, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London About the Author Nic Fryer is an academic, director and teacher. He is currently Course Leader of the BA in Performing Arts at Bucks New University. He has published in Research in Drama Education and Journal of Reflective Practice and is particularly interested in devised theatre and pedagogy. He founded the award winning Small Change Theatre.Colette Conroy is a Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of Hull and Director of Research for the School of Arts. Colette is co-editor of the international refereed journal, RiDE: the Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance. She is the author of Theatre & The Body (2010) and has published widely on the connections between politics, bodies and performance. Most recently, she has published work about disability cultures and sport, and about her own engagement in sport as a disabled person. She has a background as a theatre maker, including time spent as Associate Director of Graeae Theatre Company, Europe's foremost professional theatre company of disabled people.