Theater in a Post-Truth World - (Methuen Drama Agitations: Text, Politics and Performances) by William C Boles & Anja Hartl (Paperback)

About the Book

"This is the first book to examine how the concept and disagreements around "post-truth" have been explored in the world of theater and performance. This ranges from the plays of Caryl Churchill, Anne Washburn, and David Henry Hwang, to the inherent theatricality of press conferences, interviews and protests that embrace the confusion created by "post-truth" to muddy issues and deflect blame, to theatrical performance, where the nature of truth is challenged through staged visuals which run counter to what the audience hears, provoking a debate about where the truth actually lies. With contributions by scholars from around the world, Theater in a Post-Truth World considers a wide array of examples from American and British drama and politics, Australian theater, and the work of performance artist Marina Abramovic. Together these provide a glimpse into how the theater in its many forms provides a venue to raise critical awareness and encourage critical thinking about the ubiquity of "post-truth.""--

Book Synopsis

This is the first book to examine how the concept and disagreements around post-truth have been explored in the world of theater and performance. It covers a wide spectrum of manifestations and expressions-from the plays of Caryl Churchill, Anne Washburn, and David Henry Hwang, to the inherent theatricality of press conferences, FBI interviews and protests that embrace the confusion created by post-truth rhetoric to muddy issues and deflect blame, to theatrical performance, where the nature of truth is challenged through staged visuals which run counter to what the audience hears, provoking a debate about where the truth actually lies.

With contributions by scholars from around the world, Theater in a Post-Truth World considers a wide array of examples from American and British drama and politics, Australian theater, and the work of performance artist Marina Abramovic. Together these provide a glimpse into how the theater in its many forms provides a venue to raise awareness and encourage critical thinking about the contemporary ubiquity of post-truth.

About the Author

William C. Boles holds the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Chair of English at Rollins College, USA. He is the editor of After In-Yer-Face Theatre: Remnants of a Theatrical Revolution and the author of The Argumentative Theatre of Joe Penhall and Understanding David Henry Hwang. He is the Director of the Comparative Drama Conference.