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Available in the CURVE Thesis Collection: February 2011 http://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open Redefining Political Theatre in Post-Cold War Britain (1990-2005): An Analysis of Contemporary British Political Plays Paola Andrea Botham (née Sotomayor) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy September, 2009 Coventry University in collaboration with the University of Worcester Abstract After the end of the Cold War had signalled for many the demise of political theatre, a re-emergence of British political plays since the turn of the century has become an acknowledged phenomenon. Customary definitions of this cultural practice, however, have become historically and theoretically obsolete. An alternative philosophical framework is needed which breaks with both the unrealistic expectations of the traditional Left and the defeatist limitations of postmodernist positions. This thesis aims to provide a revised definition of political theatre based on the ideas of Jürgen Habermas. The development of his philosophical project is described together with its refinement as the result of interjections by other thinkers from within the neo-Marxist tradition of Critical Theory, in particular feminist contributors. In addition to exploring key concepts such as the reconstruction of historical materialism, the paradigm of discourse ethics and the model of post avant-garde political art, greater focus is placed on the notion of the public sphere, which has special relevance when examining the contemporary dynamics of political theatre. The second part of the thesis comprises case studies of plays written since the fall of the Berlin Wall, with emphasis on those performed from 2000 onwards, illustrating how the theoretical framework can be employed to interpret these works. The plays are representative of different strands of current political theatre, including (reconstructed) epic theatre, verbatim and tribunal forms, and feminist writing that deals with public/private and local/global dichotomies. The proposed redefinition offers an emancipatory framework for a productive understanding of political theatre in the changing world of the new century. 2 Table of Contents Abstract....................................................................................................2 Table of Contents.......................................................................................3 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................5 Introduction ..............................................................................................6 PART 1: THEORY...................................................................................... 13 Chapter 1: The Habermasian Project........................................................... 13 1.1 Habermas and the Frankfurt School ................................................ 13 Habermas’ Critical Theory................................................................ 16 A ‘reconstructive’ approach.............................................................. 20 Late or global capitalism? ................................................................ 23 1.2 Ethical dimensions ....................................................................... 25 From ethics to politics ..................................................................... 30 1.3 Aesthetic dimensions .................................................................... 36 Towards a new political art .............................................................. 41 Aesthetics and reason..................................................................... 45 Chapter 2: The Public Sphere..................................................................... 53 2.1 The Habermasian model................................................................ 53 Theatre as a public sphere............................................................... 64 2.2 Historiographical critiques ............................................................. 73 Reassessing the Enlightenment ........................................................ 77 Embodiment and theatricality........................................................... 87 Chapter 3: Feminist Critical Theory............................................................. 92 Drawing a new line: Nancy Fraser..................................................... 93 Justice and care: Seyla Benhabib.................................................... 101 Subjectivity / intersubjectivity........................................................ 108 Identity or universalism? ............................................................... 114 PART 2: ANALYSIS ................................................................................. 119 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................. 119 Political Theatre in Britain: Routes and Debates.......................................... 119 4.1 ‘Moments’ from the past ............................................................. 119 The counterculture years............................................................... 124 Agitprop and avant-garde.............................................................. 127 4.2 Arguments for the present........................................................... 132 Post avant-garde political theatre ................................................... 139 Current trends ............................................................................. 142 Chapter 5: British Epic Theatre Reconstructed............................................ 154 5.1 David Edgar’s Playing with Fire .................................................... 155 Beyond the nation-state? .............................................................. 157 Structure versus character ............................................................ 161 Learning from history ................................................................... 166 5.2 Howard Brenton’s In Extremis...................................................... 169 Brenton’s ‘epic’ journey................................................................. 172 Abelard, Heloise... and Galileo........................................................ 176 The return of humanism................................................................ 180 Chapter 6 ............................................................................................. 185 Documentary Forms: Verbatim and Tribunal .............................................. 185 6.1 Verbatim theatre: Out of Joint ..................................................... 185 Verbatim and its publics ................................................................ 188 A reconstructed truth.................................................................... 194 6.2 Tribunal plays: Bloody Sunday ..................................................... 197 The theatre and the tribunal .......................................................... 201 The question of authenticity........................................................... 205 Chapter 7: Feminist/Global Departures...................................................... 214 7.1 Sarah Kane’s Blasted.................................................................. 214 3 Political readings .......................................................................... 217 Feminist readings......................................................................... 223 Ethical dilemmas .......................................................................... 227 7.2 Caryl Churchill’s Far Away ........................................................... 231 A socialist-feminist playwright? ...................................................... 235 Utopia and dystopia...................................................................... 239 Truths and lies............................................................................. 244 Conclusions and Future Research ............................................................. 247 Works Cited .......................................................................................... 254 4 Acknowledgments Heartfelt thanks must be given to my Director of Studies, Dr. Claire Cochrane, for her unreserved enthusiasm and expert guidance during the whole development of this research. I am also grateful to the other members of my supervisory team, Professor Jean Webb, for her motivation, and Dr. Alan How, whose book on Critical Theory introduced me to Habermas. Conversations with many colleagues helped me to think through complex issues and difficulties. In particular I would like