760-209 Avant-Garde Theatre

This is a theatre studies (T/P) subject.

25 points of first-year theatre studies or equivalent.

This subject introduces and examines theories of the avant-garde and notions of avant-garde theatre culture. Students will review the history of the avant-garde in the 20th century with specific attention to early formative experiments, the contribution of Antonin Artaud and the explosion of avant-garde theatre in the 1960s and beyond. Consideration will also be given to the possible crisis in avant-garde theatre in the light of contemporary culture. The avant-gardes' need to be politically and culturally transgressive will be explored through early experiments in unmediated artistic expression and in the contemporary theorisation of cultural experiences as performance.