CRISIS : The Theatre Responds

This book by Dr Carol Rocamora (New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts) explores the courageous playwrights of the world who used the stage as a platform to address crises of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. From Bertolt Brecht to present day playwrights, Carol Rocamora discusses how theatre has addressed crises from World War II to the present, including war, apartheid, communism, authoritarianism, racism, immigrant and refugee issues, environmental peril, and the pandemic.

We live in times of crisis. How has the theatre responded? Has the theatre lived up to its essential purpose: to “hold up the mirror” to our turbulent times?

This book looks at the courageous responses from dozens of playwrights over the past hundred years, writing about urgent issues – from World War II to communism, apartheid, the AIDs epidemic, gay hate crime, urban race riots, conflict in the Middle East, Africa, and Afghanistan, systemic racism, immigrant identity, the refugee crisis, authoritarianism, failing educational systems, environmental peril, and, most recently, the pandemic. These dedicated writers (from four continents) and the theatres who support them have taken huge risks to heighten our awareness to the urgent issues of our times. This book will acknowledge the exciting new dramatic forms they have created, their heroic efforts, and the changes that they have provoked and continue to do so.

CRISIS contains discussion of the following plays:

Disgraced; Grounded; Mother Courage and Her Children; Guantanamo: ‘Honor Bound to Defend Freedom.’; The Niceties; Black Watch; An Ordinary Muslim; A Number; Blue Heart; Cloud Nine; Escaped Alone; Far Away; American Moor;Ain’t No Mo; Fairview; Death of England and Death of England: Delroy; Blood Knot and Other Plays; Three Port Elizabeth Plays; “Master Harold”… and the boys; Eclipsed; Beat the Devil: A Covid Monologue; Stuff Happens; Slave Play; 1984 by George Orwell; An Octoroon; The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project:  Ten Years Later; Mosquitos; The Children; Angels in America; Death of a Salesman; Hamilton: The Revolution; In the Heights; Pipeline; The Jungle; The Guys; The Apple Family: A Pandemic Trilogy; Ruined; Pass Over; Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2, & 3; The America Play and Other Works; Topdog/Underdog; White Noise; Rockets and Blue Lights; The Lehman Trilogy; Notes from the Field; Twilight Los Angeles: 1992 and others.