This collection of essays explores how drama can teach political principles and entertain at the same time.
Political commentary is possible through "variety" theatre, this volume contends. Compiled from the April 2000 Theatre Symposium held on the campus of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, this collection of essays presents a compelling mix of theoretical and practical viewpoints from a broad diversity of scholars from around the country.
What remains to be learned about the political objectives of Brecht's Lehrstriucke? What political power is resident in the satirical humor of Dario Fo's drama? What can we learn from Mordecai Gorelik's political/artistic philosophy that might inform contemporary practice? What was the impact of political theatre on Broadway between the wars? Is Thornton Wilder's Our Town the play we've always imagined it to be, or does it challenge the politics of its time? What is the role of theatre activism in raising consciousness about gender politics? These are only some of the questions addressed by this lively, informative discussion.
IntroductionLadies Against Women: Theatre Activism and Satirical Gender Play in the 1980sBurbankCarolAt “Cross-Purposes”: John Howard Lawson's the InternationalChambersJonathanSurpassing Representation: The Changing Character of the Collective in Lehrstücke by Brecht and MüllerEarnestSteveCirculating Power: National Theatre as Public Utility in the Federal Theatre ProjectEisenKurtThe Finger in the Eye: Politics and Literature in the Theatre of Dario FoFisherJamesWhen Theatre was a Weapon (or He Wanted It to be): The Theory and Practice of Mordecai GorelikFletcherAnneWriting the People: Political Theatre on Broadway in Interwar AmericaHerrChristopherA Relationship in Flux: Variety Theatre and Government in the Twentieth CenturyKattwinkelSusanDisrupting the Spectacle: French Situationist Political Theory and the Plays of Howard BrentonO'ConnorJohnA Sort of Nationcoming: Invasion, Exile, and the Politics of Home in Modern Irish DramaTrotterMaryNo Curtain. No Scenery: Thornton Wilder's Our Town and the Politics of WhitenessTurnerJeffThere shall be No Night and the Politics of IsolationismWithamBarry B.Contributors
