Jacques Ranciere 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 Ranciere and the field of theatre and performance studies. Recent scholarly works in this discipline have drawn upon concepts from Ranciere'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 Ranciere'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.

About the Author
Colette Conroy is director of the Institute of Arts, University of Cumbria, UK.

Nic Fryer is senior lecturer and course leader of the MA in performing arts at Bucks New University and a director.

Reviews

Although a decade has passed since the English publication of the Emancipated Spectator, Ranciere'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 Ranciere's project.

-- Tony Fisher, reader in theatre and philosophy, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London

This timely collection of new essays provides a fascinating survey of the work of Jacques Ranciere 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 London



Book Information
ISBN 9781538148419
Author Nic Fryer
Format Paperback
Page Count 254
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 390g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 19mm