Theatre and Protest

How does protest engage in theatre? What does theatre have to gain from protest?

Theatre and protest are often closely interlinked in the contemporary cultural and political landscape, and the line between political activism and performance art is frequently unclear. However, this relationship is also beset with doubts about theatre’s capacity to intervene in the social world. This fresh and coherent text thinks through these points of intersection and tension between theatre and protest. Exploring the cross-fertilization of international theatre and protest across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Lara Shalson illuminates how and why theatre and protest are mutually influencing and enriching forms.