POLITICAL THEATRE

(Redirected from Political theater)

'Political theatre' is drama or performance that emphasizes a political issue or issues in its theme or plot. Overt forms of political theatre include the works of Bertolt Brecht and the street theatre of the San Francisco Mime Troupe and ROiL, to name two examples. Political theatre can also be defined as an exploration of themes more universal and central to society itself, especially when that society defines itself as politically conscious. The earliest Western dramas, arising out of the polis, or democratic city-state of Greek society, were political theatre in this sense. Performed in amphitheatres--central arenas used for theatrical performances, religious ceremonies and political gatherings--these dramas had a ritualistic and social significance that enhanced the relevance of the political issues being examined. And one must marvel at the open-minded examination of controversial and critical topics that took place right in the political heart of Athenian society, allowing a courageous self-examination of the first democracy trying to develop and refine itself further.
Shakespeare has also be called an author of political theatre.^[1] Not only do his history plays examine the machinations of personal drives and passions determining political activity, but many of the tragedies such as ''King Lear'' and ''Macbeth'' examine the essence of political leadership or lack thereof, and the incredible complexity of the subterfuge of which human beings are capable when they become driven by the lust for power. Class struggle in the Roman Republic is central to Coriolanus.
In later centuries, political theatre has sometimes taken a different form. Sometimes associated with cabaret and folk theatre, it has offered itself as a theatre 'of, by, and for the people'. In this guise, political theatre has developed within the civil societies under oppressive governments as a means of actual underground communication and the spreading of critical thought.
Often political theatre has been used to promote specific political theories or ideals, for example in the way agitprop has been used to further Marxism and the development of communist sympathies. But Marxist theatre wasn't always this directly agitational. Bertolt Brecht developed a highly elaborate and sophisticated new aesthetics--epic theater--to address the spectator in a more rational way. Brecht's aesthetics have influenced political playwrights throughout the world, especially in India and Africa. Augusto Boal developed the Brechtian form of ''Lehrstücke'' into his internationally-acclaimed ''Theatre of the Oppressed'', with its now-widespread techniques of --'forum theatre' and 'invisible theatre'--to further social change. Boal's work in this area has contributed to the emergence of the Theatre for Development movement across the world. In the sixties playwrights like Peter Weiss adopted a more 'documentary' approach towards political theatre, following on from the example of Erwin Piscator in the twenties. Weiss wrote plays closely based on historical documents like the proceedings of the Auschwitz trial in Frankfurt.
Less radical versions of political theatre have become established within the mainstream modern repertory - such as the realist dramas of Arthur Miller (''The Crucible'' and ''All My Sons''), which probe the behavior of human beings as social and political animals.
A new form of political theatre emerged in the twentieth century with feminist authors like Elfriede Jelinek or Caryl Churchill, who often make use of the non-realistic techniques detailed above.
The Iraq War and the "War On Terror",^[2] have spawned a recent revival in British political drama. Playwrights such as David Hare, Mark Ravenhill, David Edgar, Komedy Kollective, and Arnold Wesker, have helped revive the UK political scene with a heady mixture of political observation and astute satirical interplay.
John McGrath, founder of the Scottish popular theatre company , argued that "the theatre can never ‘cause’ a social change. It can articulate pressure towards one, help people celebrate their strengths and maybe build their self-confidence… Above all, it can be the way people find their voice, their solidarity and their collective determination".ContentsSee alsoFurther readingReferences

See also

★ Banner theatre

★ Dario Fo

★ Jean Genet

★ Alfred Jarry

★ Clifford Odets

★ Erwin Piscator

★ The Living Theatre

★ Komedy Kollective

★ ROiL

★ HartBeat Ensemble

★ The San Francisco Mime Troupe

★ Political cinema

★ Social criticism

Further reading

★ Yolanda Broyles-Conzalez, ''El Teatro Campesino: Theater in the Chicano Movement'', University of Texas Press, 1994

★ Charlotte Canning, ''Working from experience : a history of feminist theater in the United States, 1969 to the present'', Seattle, Univ. of Washington, Diss., 1991

★ Erika Fischer-Lichte, ''Theatre, sacrifice, ritual : exploring forms of political theatre'', London: Routledge, 2005

★ Dimple Godiwala, ''Breaking the bounds : British feminist dramatists writing in the mainstream since c. 1980'', New York ; Oxford : P. Lang, 2003.

★ Christian Meier, ''The political art of Greek tragedy'', Cambridge : Polity Press, 1993.

★ Michael Patterson, ''Strategies of Political Theatre'', Cambridge University Press, 2003 - analyzises recent British drama

★ Erwin Piscator, ''The political theatre: a history 1914-1929'', New York : Avon, 1978.

★ Alan Filewod & David Watt, ''Workers' Playtime: Theatre and the labour movement since 1970'', Currency Press, 2001

References

1. See, for example, Dollimore, Jonathan and Alan Sinfield, eds. 1985. ''Political Shakespeare: Essays in Cultural Materialism''. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0 7190 4352 2 and John Drakakis, ed. 1985 ''Alternative Shakespeares.'' New Accents Ser. Routledge. ISBN 0 415 02528 1.
2. In a different, more metaphorical, sense from those detailed in this article, in recent speeches the US President George Bush has denounced some political action taken by Democrats opposed to his agenda as "political theatre"