Performance in a Time of Terror Critical Mimesis and the Age of Uncertainty

Performance in the Time of Terroris an important investigation of the ways in which performance has given shape and form to "wars of terror," past and present, and as a strategy and teactic of violence. Focusing on an array of performances that caused a stir during the "war on terror" of the first decade of the twenty-first century, Hughes also explores the use of performance by counterinsurgents during the "war on terrorism" in Northern Ireland (1969-1998). Offering original discussions of the resurgance of political theatre on London stages and the proliferation of antiwar activism during the war in Iraq (2003-2008), also documented are a series of theatre productions targeting communities deemed vulnerable to ideologies of violent extremism. This book will appeal to researchers and students of contemporary theatre and performance, especially those interested in the politics of performance. It will interest anyone researching wars on terror and terrorism from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Jenny Hughes is Lecturer in Drama at the University of Manchester.

Contents * Acknowledgements * Illustrations * Prologue: A race across the desert * Searching for a politics of performance in an age of uncertainty * A beheading in Iraq: Medusa, the mirror and a performance of exception * Counterinsurgency performance in Northern Ireland: street-crowd-balcony-scenes and the ob-scene * A crisis of voice: democratic performance on the London stage * Camping up and camping out as antiwar protest performance * Performance, counterterrorism and community: cops, neighbours, lovers and double agents * Epilogue: Critical mimesis, refuse and waste * References