Alternatives : Debating Theatre Culture in the Age of Con-fusion

This book investigates alternative ways of working between cultural, artistic, and intellectual spaces in an era when the reality of globalisation imposes on our world view. Essays by leading performance scholars in Australia, Japan and USA are inspired by the Journey to Con-Fusion project; a collaboration between Tokyo’s ‘Gekidan Kaitaisha’ and Melbourne’s ‘Not Yet It’s Difficult’ performance groups. Discussed in Alternatives are issues of cultural politics; intercultural exchange; representation and interpretation of contemporary performance; dramaturgical analysis; and readings of performative sites. This book also includes a photo essay of Journey to Con-Fusion. In addition, this multidisciplinary volume offers analyses of outstanding examples of rarely seen Japanese and Australian performance. This material will be of vital interest to scholars working at the intersections of theatre and cultural studies. This study results from the fruitful collaboration between artists and scholars through alternative networks and cross-cultural partnership. It addresses wide-ranging contexts for the arts, and debates possibilities for far-reaching alternatives in an age of advanced capitalism and globalisation.