Art and Politics: Psychoanalysis, Ideology, Theatre

Davis (English, Ohio State U.), an actor and playwright, uses psychoanalysis to examine the relationship between art and politics, attempting to understand the effects of the current political climate on theater. He argues that theater is a social institution that reflects the ideology and beliefs of the dominant order and that this must be exposed for change to occur. The ideological assumptions surrounding censorship of the play My Name is Rachel Corrie in New York in 2006 form the impetus for his argument, with discussion of the beliefs of the left and a proposal for a radical theater that would break with dominant ideologies. He describes the political illusions of the left, addressing the split between science and religion, and the philosophical foundations on which they are based. He then provides a framework of an existential and psychoanalytic way of thinking in its stead, and a new understanding of tragedy. The final chapters offer types of drama that fit his definition of radical theater. Distributed in the US by the U. of Michigan Press. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)