Theory/Theatre: An Introduction

By Mark Fortier

Book Overview

Theory/Theatre is a unique and highly engaging introduction to literary theory as it relates to theatre and performance. It is a brilliantly clear and readable examination of current theoretical approaches, from semiotics and poststructuralism, through cultural materialism, postcolonial studies and feminist theory.

In this, the third and fully revised edition of this now classic text, Mark Fortier particularly expands and updates the sections on:

queer theory

postmarxist theory

technology and virtuality

post-colonialism and race

Also including completely new writing on cognitive science, fast becoming a cornerstone of theatre and performance theory, this revised edition is an indispensable addition to every theatre student's collection.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138902047
• ISBN13: 9781138902046
• Release Date: April 2016
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Excellent, invaluable guide to theater and theory

*Theory/Theatre* is a remarkable pocket-sized guide to the major contemporary trends in critical theory and their relationships to performance and performance studies. Fortier's prose is lucid and eloquent. He handles difficult concepts with succinct yet not simplistic essays that tie the theoretical concepts to instances of performance. I have used the book with undergraduates, and it has helped them make sense of the intellectual histories, differences and applications of, for instance, psychoanalytic criticism, post-structuralism, feminism, reception theory, etc. Fortier's concluding essay on the uses of theory is both skeptical and inspired by theory, and gorgeously written. Such a pleasure to work with an interpetive text that is truly knowing of its subjects without seeking to outdistance or subdue them!

Excellent summary of major theories

Fortier's book is a wonderful summary of the major theories concerning theater and performance. He presents a familiarity with everyone from Freud and Hegel to current leading theorists. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in critical theory of theater, especially for students. Fortier's style is engaging and easy to read.