Reinelt (theater and performance, U. of Warwick, UK) and Roach (theater and English, Yale U.) assemble 29 essays in the field of performance studies that explore critical theories of performance. They are organized into new sections in this edition, along with some new essays. They cover performance analysis and studies, mediatized cultures, postcolonial studies, critical race theory, theater history and historiography, theory after Marx, gender and sexualities, and psychoanalysis. Each section is preceded by an introduction to the major critical theories that relate to performance, and these identify key texts and terminology. They essays then follow with discussion of how the theory is used by practitioners in the field, with some applying theories to traditional dramatic texts such as King Lear, The Misanthrope, and works by Bertolt Brecht. Contributors are scholars of performance studies, theater, critical studies, and other fields and work in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Janelle G. Reinelt is Professor of Theatre and Performance at the University of Warwick. Reinelt and Roach
Joseph R. Roach is Charles C. and Dorathea S. Dilley Professor of Theater and English at Yale University.
“Critical Theory and Performance signals the self-empowered emergence of theatre and performance studies into the broader fray of contemporary scholarship . . . a first-of-its-kind resource which many scholars will keep close at hand and which future graduate students would do well to consider required reading for programs in theatre history, dramatic criticism, or performance studies.”
—TDR
