Death in modern theatre : stages of mortality / Adrian Curtin.

Death in modern theatre offers a unique account of modern Western theatre, focusing on the ways in which dramatists and theatre-makers have explored historically informed ideas about death and dying in their work. It investigates the opportunities theatre affords to reflect on the end of life in a compelling and socially meaningful fashion. In a series of interrelated, mostly chronological, micronarratives beginning in the late nineteenth century and ending in the early twenty-first century, this book considers how and why death and dying are represented at certain historical moments using dramaturgy and aesthetics that challenge audiences' conceptions, sensibilities, and sense-making faculties. It includes a mix of well-known and lesser-known plays from an international range of dramatists and theatre-makers, and offers original interpretations through close reading and performance analysis.

Front Matter; Dedication; Contents; List of figures; Acknowledgements; Chronology; Introduction: Stages of mortality; Beyond the veil: sensing death in symbolist theatre; Fantastical representations of death in First World War drama; The absurd drama of modern death denial; Theatres of catastrophe after Auschwitz and Hiroshima; The drama of dying in the early twenty-first century; Conclusion: Unending; References; Index

Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 08, 2019).

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide