Unfolding Spectatorship: Shifting Political, Ethical and Intermedial Positions

There is no performance without the spectator. This holds true not only for traditional drama, but also for contemporary interactive-and even virtual-forms of theatre. Concepts of spectatorship are now continually being redefined, as spectatorial practices have until recently been neglected in academic discourses. The spectator is no longer a passive and immobile subject.

Promoting an ever-shifting notion of spectatorship, this collection of essays explores the field of contemporary performing arts by revealing the interplay between audience and community, gaze and passivity, image and living reality, self-ownership and alienation. Incorporating recent developments in philosophy, theatre studies and performance studies, the authors offer insight into the practices of a wide array of Flemish and international theatre and performance artists, such as Blast Theory, Ariane Loze, Margareth Obexer, Sarah Vanagt, Charlotte Vanden Eynde, and Kurt Vandendriessche.