Theatricality and the Arts - by Andrew Quick & Richard Rushton

About the Book

Examines the notion of theatricality in relation to film, theatre, art, and contemporary media

Book Synopsis

Theatricality and the Arts presents a series of investigations of the notion of 'theatricality'. Primarily, theatricality concerns that which pertains to theatre, but the term has always carried with it the potentially pejorative associations of exaggeration and fakery. The essays here question and contest such associations. The book is divided into four sections which together provide a comprehensive interrogation of theatricality. The four sections begin with multimedia, where theatricality is examined in relation to mixed modes of media (internet art, painting, performance and digital display). A second section takes a philosophical approach to questions of theatricality. A third section looks at art, broadly speaking, but also at the historical contexts of art, photography and other media (literature, film, music). A final section features reflections on theatre and cinema, often in conjunction. Considered as a whole, the collection contributes to debates on theatricality in various fields, while also enabling a cross-examination of approaches to the topic.

From the Back Cover

Theatricality and the Arts presents a series of investigations of the notion of 'theatricality'. Primarily, theatricality is associated with theatre, but the term has always carried with it the potentially pejorative connotations of exaggeration and fakery, associations which are questioned and contested throughout this collection. Divided into four sections, fifteen chapters provide a comprehensive interrogation of theatricality. Beginning with multimedia, theatricality is examined in relation to mixed modes of media (internet art, painting, performance and digital display). The second section interrogates theatricality through a philosophical lens, followed by an investigation into the historical contexts of art, photography and other media in the third section. The final section features reflections on theatre and cinema, often in conjunction. Considered as a whole, the collection contributes to debates on theatricality in various fields, while also enabling a thorough cross-examination of the topic. Andrew Quick is Professor of Theatre and Performance at Lancaster University Richard Rushton is Professor in Film Studies at Lancaster University

Review Quotes

In keeping with their previous work - both academic and artistic - Quick and Rushton have drawn together a timely and provocative collection on theatricality. One that with finesse, elegance and transparency draws attention both to the complexity of theatricality as its well to as its contemporary resonances in different media and genres. The collection signals a welcome shift back to the aesthetic, which, of course, is something that is rooted in the very construction of the social, as indeed all the diverse contributions in the collection are keen to stress. I highly recommend it to anyone working in the cultural field who is interested in how representation works and what it can do.

--Professor Carl Lavery, University of Glasgow

About the Author

Andrew Quick is Professor of Theatre and Performance at Lancaster University

Richard Rushton is Professor in Film Studies at Lancaster University