Books in the Dramaturgies Textes, Cultures et Representations Texts, Cultures and Performances series

Theater has always been the site of visionary hopes for a reformed national future and a space for propagating ideas, both cultural and political, and such a conceptualization of the histrionic art is all the more valuable in the post-9/11 era. The essays in this volume address the concept of «Americanness» and the perceptions of the «alien» ¿ as ethnic, class or gendered minorities ¿ as dealt with in the work of American playwrights from Anna Cora Mowatt, through Rachel Crothers or Susan Glaspell, and on to Sam Shepard, David Mamet, Nilo Cruz or Wallace Shawn. The authors of the essays come from a multi-national university background that includes the United States, the United Arab Emirates and various countries of the European Community. In recognition of the multiple components of drama, the essays for the volume were selected in order to exemplify different aspects and theories of theater studies: the playwright, the play, the audience and the actor are all examined as part of the theatrical experience that serves to formulate American national identity.

Theatre in Britain today is composed of many strands ranging from the postmodern, in-yer-face, musical and dance theatre forms or performance art and media work to the contemporary productions of classical playwrights. In the aftermath of Empire or, as it is often termed, the «post-colonial» world, British theatre in all these forms has also developed through the rich and vibrant contribution of those who, from necessity or choice, have come to Britain as migrants, and of their children of the second and third generations. This book is primarily concerned with giving a voice to some of these Black and South Asian theatre practitioners who tell their own stories while at the same time they, and others, describe the conditions in which they work. The editors have been careful to encourage the expression of different viewpoints. Indeed varying interpretations of such terms as «multicultural», «gender-based» or even «Black» and «British» can be found. The result is an extraordinarily diverse picture of today¿s Black and South Asian British theatre practitioners but also of their companies and their relations with traditional institutions.