Arguments for a Theatre - 4th Edition by Howard Barker (Paperback)

About the Book

This new edition of Barker's seminal text outlines the theory and practice of his 'Theatre of Catstrophe'.

Book Synopsis

This new edition of Barker's seminal text Arguments for a Theatre outlinesthe theory and practice of his 'Theatre of Catastrophe'. Author of over thirty plays, Howard Barker has long been an implacable foe of the liberal British establishment, and champion of radical theatre world-wide. His best-known plays are The Castle, Scenes from an Execution and The Possibilities. All his plays are emotionally highly charged, intellectually stimulating and have no truck with the theatrical conventions of what he terms the 'Establishment Theatre'. These fragments, essays, thoughts and poems on the nature of theatre likewise reject the constraints of 'objective' academic theatre criticism. Rather they explore the collision (and collusion) of intellect and artistry in the creative act. This book is more than a collection of essays: it is a cultural manifesto.

Review Quotes

"A manifesto as systematically unsystematic as Artaud's for a Theatre of Cruelty - a comparable mixture of self-revelation, self-concealment, anger and explosive excitement. The essays, all of them, are clamorous, challenging and eloquent. Indisputably brilliant." --Peter Thomson, University of Exeter

About the Author

Howard Barker's first play was performed at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 1970. Subsequently, his works were played by the Royal Court, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Open Space Theatre, Sheffield Crucible and the Almeida. He is currently Artistic Director of The Wrestling School, a company established to disseminate his works and develop his theory of production. His work is played extensively in Europe, in translation, in The United States, and in Australia. He writes regularly for radio, both in England and Europe. He is the author of plays for marionettes and has written three librettos for opera.
Howard Barker is the author of two works of theory, and five volumes of poetry. He is also a painter. His work is held in national collections in England (V&A, London) and Europe.