The Loss of Small White Clouds
Dementia in Contemporary Performance
Morgan Batch
- 264 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Loss of Small White Clouds
Dementia in Contemporary Performance
Morgan Batch
About This Book
This volume seeks to instigate a discussion about dementia in theatre.
The discussions in this book borrow from the literature on dementia's representation in other artforms, while reflecting on theatre's unique capacity to incorporate multiple artforms in a live context (hypermediacy). The author examines constructions of diegesis and the use of various performance tools, including physical theatre, puppetry, and postdramatic performance. She discusses stage representations of interior experiences of dementia; selfhood in dementia; the demarcation of those with dementia from those without; endings, erasure, and the pursuit of catharsis; placelessness and disruptions of traditional dramatic constructions of time; and ultimately, performances creatively led by people with dementia. The book traces patterns of narrativisation on the stageâincluding common dramaturgical forms, settings, and character relationshipsâas well as examples that transcend mainstream representation.
This book is important reading for theatre and performance students, scholars, and practitioners, as well as cultural studies writers engaged in research about narratives of dementia.