Customer Reviews

Theory/Theatre: An Introduction - 2nd Edition

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4 star:		(1)
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*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!

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.

Fortier has so much to offer in the realm of performance that many "practitioners" simply shrug off at this point in history. His writing maintains a level of credence and clarity while never playing down to his audience. He expects readers to come with a certain level of knowledge while never seeping into an air of pretension or aca-babble.