Agitating for change : theatre and a feminist 'network of resistance'

Aston, Elaine Frances (2016) Agitating for change : theatre and a feminist 'network of resistance'. Theatre Research International, 41 (1). pp. 5-20. ISSN 0307-8833

[thumbnail of TRI agitating for change Acceptance manuscript]
Microsoft Word (TRI agitating for change Acceptance manuscript)
TRI_agitating_for_change_Acceptance_manuscript.doc - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (128kB)

Abstract

Focusing on the UK, where feminism is gaining momentum through multiple sites of activist dissent from a neoliberal hegemony, my primary concern in this article is to understand how, given this renewal of feminist energies, theatre might be able to play its part in agitating for change. Inspired by Chantal Mouffe’s compelling description of a ‘network of resistance’, as a possible way forward I conceive of theatre politically as a series of heterogeneously formed sites of oppositional and affirmative activity, each linked into articulating dissent from neoliberalism and the desire for socially progressive change. This provides the critical framework for my engagement with three radically diverse performances ranging from new playwriting (Lucy Kirkwood’s NSFW), through the flash mob (Eve Ensler’s One Billion Rising campaign), to the West End musical Made in Dagenham.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Theatre Research International
Additional Information:
Copyright Theatre Research International; Cambridge University Press http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=TRI The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Theatre Research International, 41 (1), pp 5-20 2016, © 2016 Cambridge University Press
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1200/1213
Subjects:
?? visual arts and performing artsliterature and literary theory ??
ID Code:
79864
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
07 Jun 2016 07:46
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
22 Jan 2024 00:12