Theatre History & Criticism

Stanton B. Gardner, Jr., University of Tennessee, USA From discussions on the somatic underpinnings of the body that medicine and theatre take as their subject, through to the historical association of theatre and contagion, this brief study considers the institutional contexts of theatre’s medical performances in the early 21st century This volume also explores the pervasive role of doctors and the practitioners of alternative medicine in Western theatre and the role of patients on and off stage

UK January 2023 • US January 2023 • 104 pages PB 9781350330153 • £999 / $1295 ePub 9781350330177 • £899 / $1235 ePdf 9781350330160 • £899 / $1235 Series: Theatre And • Methuen Drama

Theatres of War

Contemporary Perspectives

Edited by Lauri Scheyer, Hunan Normal University, China Why have so many writers and audiences turned to theatre to try to resolve overwhelming topics of pain and suffering? Historically, theatre has played an important part in encompassing and preserving significant human experiences. Plays about global issues, including terrorism and war, are being explored more in plays and we are in an era of increased interest in the role played by theatre in political events In this contemporary collection of essays, a gathering of diverse contributors explain theatre’s special ability to generate dialogue and promote healing when dealing with human tragedy

UK April 2023 • US April 2023 • 216 pages PB 9781350264830 • £2899 / $3995 Previously published in HB 9781350132924 ePub 9781350132955 • £7650 / $10578 ePdf 9781350132948 • £7650 / $10578 Methuen Drama Staging Crisis, Memory and Nationhood

Edited by Miriam Haughton, University of Galway, Ireland, Alinne Balduino P. Fernandes, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil & Pieter Verstraete, University of Groningen, the Netherlands and Free University Berlin, Germany This volume explores how theatre and performance creates a vital stage for acts and displays of commemoration It considers the interplay between theatre, performance and commemoration and cultural and social political issues across the globe, drawing together case studies from across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America

UK May 2023 • US May 2023 • 224 pages HB 9781350306769 • £8500 / $11500 ePub 9781350306776 • £7650 / $10578 ePdf 9781350306783 • £7650 / $10578 Series: Cultural Histories of Theatre and Performance • Methuen Drama

Avatars, Activism and Postdigital Performance

Precarious Intermedial Identities

Edited by Liam Jarvis, University of Essex, UK & Karen Savage, University of Lincoln, UK Considering how technology is reshaping performance, this timely collection reveals how we engage in performance practices through expanded notions of intermediality It examines the artist as activist and avatar, and how digital models of performance problematize and expand our discussions of identity. Using a range of theatre and film performance examples, including Avatar and Calpurnia Descending, chapters explore a variety of topics, including the uncertain boundaries of the body in mediatized cultures, machine algorithms, apps and digital legacy

UK June 2023 • US June 2023 • 200 pages • 15 bw illus PB 9781350270534 • £2899 / $3995 Previously published in HB 9781350159310 ePub 9781350159327 • £7200 / $10029 ePdf 9781350159334 • £7200 / $10029 Methuen Drama

Methuen Drama Engage

Mark Taylor-Batty, University of Leeds, UK; Enoch Brater, Univesity of Michigan, USA

Sarah Kane’s Theatre of Psychic Life

Theatre, Thought and Mental Suffering

Leah Sidi

The first book to focus exclusively on playwright Sarah Kane’s approach to mind and mental health, bringing together archival material, healthcare contexts and contemporary performances As such, it offers an important re-evaluation of Kane’s oeuvre, revealing the relationship between theatre and mind, which lies at the heart of her theatrical projects Drawing on performance theory, psychoanalysis and neuroscience, this book argues that Kane’s innovations generated a ‘dramaturgy of psychic life’, which re-shape the encounter between stage and audience It uses previously unseen archival material and contemporary productions to uncover the mechanics of this innovative theatre practice

UK April 2023 • US April 2023 • 224 pages HB 9781350283121 • £8500 / $11500 ePub 9781350283138 • £7650 / $10578 ePdf 9781350283145 • £7650 / $10578 Series: Methuen Drama Engage • Methuen Drama

Performing Arousal

Precarious Bodies and Frames of Representation

Edited by Julia Listengarten, USA & Yana Meerzon, University of Ottawa What is the connection between arousal and precarity in performance? Drawing on the complicated relationship between arousing images and the frames of their representability, this original collection of articles considers arousal as a mode of inquiry and encourages new ways of examining the notion of the precarious body in political performance From multiple and diverse perspectives and thinking within political and queer performances of protest, the collection is divided into four sections: Pleasured Bodies, Political Bodies, Trans/ Bodies and Abject Bodies

UK June 2023 • US June 2023 • 272 pages • 5 bw illus PB 9781350279469 • £2899 / $3995 Previously published in HB 9781350155633 ePub 9781350155640 • £7650 / $10578 ePdf 9781350155657 • £7650 / $10578 Series: Methuen Drama Engage • Methuen Drama