| Abstrakt: |
Instead of opting for the ostentatiously apocalyptic or the amusingly escapist, we chose the open and somewhat optimistic title "Performing the Future", inviting contributions on SF, Afrofuturism, dystopian drama, and mediatised formats of theatre. Indeed, while agreeing in an interview with Sierz that his play I The Lifesavers i (Theatre 503, 2009) is probably "a dystopian vision of the future", Fraser Grace still preferred to stage it "as a parallel world" ("Playwright Fraser Grace" 02:00-02:10): "As somebody has observed, you know, this is a well-trodden graveyard for playwrights. According to her, it is not the concrete ideal states presented in a drama but theatre as a space of experimentation that makes utopia possible: "performance - not just drama - is one of the few places where a live experience, as well as an expression, through content, of utopia might be possible" (456). Although the "contagion" of theatre is no longer feasible in its traditional sense, Pietrzak-Franger and Liedke's study of plays performed and/or broadcast on Zoom demonstrates how links between performers and the audience can still be formed in the new (theatrical) medium. [Extracted from the article] |
