Madness in Contemporary British Theatre: Resistances and Representations

Venn, Jon

This book considers the representation of madness in contemporary British

theatre, examining the rich relationship between performance and mental health,

and questioning how theatre can potentially challenge dominant understandings

of mental health. Carefully, it suggests what it means to represent madness in

theatre, and the avenues through which such representations can become

radical, whereby theatre can act as a site of resistance.

Engaging with the heterogeneity of madness, each chapter covers different

the contemporary asylum; the cultural idioms behind hallucination; the means by

which suicide is apprehended and approached; how testimony of the mad person

is interpreted and encountered.

As a study that interrogates a wide range of British theatre across the past 30

years, and includes a theoretical interrogation of the politics of madness, this is

a crucial work for any student or researcher, across disciplines, considering the

politics of madness and its relationship to performance.

Details

Published by: Palgrave Macmillan

Publication Date: 2021-08-31

Format: Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9783030797812

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-79782-9

Dimensions: 210cm x148cm

Pages: 222