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

Performance in a Time of Terror is a thoughtful investigation of the ways performance has given shape and form to wars on terror past and present, as both a strategy and tactic 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). Starting with the spate of carefully rehearsed beheadings carried out by Islamic insurgents in Iraq in 2004, Hughes proposes that the radical in performance can be mostly clearly identified in acts of violence that have obliterated life. Exploring how theatre-makers and performance activists have made use of the capacity of performance to generate habitable worlds for life in times of crisis, she argues for a re-engagement with the conservative as part of the critical project of art-making. Offering original discussions of the resurgence 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 commissioned by counterterrorism agencies, following the suicide attacks in the UK in 2005, that targeted 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 also be of general interest to anyone researching wars on terror and terrorism from an interdisciplinary perspective.