Performing war: 'military theatre' and the possibilities of resistance

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Author(s)
Balfour, Michael
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2007
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In Place of War (IPOW) (www.inplaceofwar.net) is a three and a half year Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) project exploring the context of performance in sites of war: theatre in refugee camps; in war-affected villages; in towns under curfew; in cities under siege. IPOW has been investigating a number of war zone case studies, including Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Northern Ireland, Palestine-Israel, and the Balkans. In this paper I would like to discuss the distinction between propaganda theatre and performance as 'resistance' using an example of 'military theatre' practice from Kosovo. I will argue that the categorisation ...
View more >In Place of War (IPOW) (www.inplaceofwar.net) is a three and a half year Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) project exploring the context of performance in sites of war: theatre in refugee camps; in war-affected villages; in towns under curfew; in cities under siege. IPOW has been investigating a number of war zone case studies, including Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Northern Ireland, Palestine-Israel, and the Balkans. In this paper I would like to discuss the distinction between propaganda theatre and performance as 'resistance' using an example of 'military theatre' practice from Kosovo. I will argue that the categorisation of performance practice (particularly in post war writing) as either 'resistance' or 'propaganda' needs to be considered with caution. The location of practice within these two categories is a deeply political and partisan act: one person's propaganda is another's theatre of resistance. Performance practice in a war zone occupies, borrowing from Levi, a 'grey zone', one in which it may be neither good nor evil, neither free of ideology, nor completely evacuated of humanising properties.
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View more >In Place of War (IPOW) (www.inplaceofwar.net) is a three and a half year Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) project exploring the context of performance in sites of war: theatre in refugee camps; in war-affected villages; in towns under curfew; in cities under siege. IPOW has been investigating a number of war zone case studies, including Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Northern Ireland, Palestine-Israel, and the Balkans. In this paper I would like to discuss the distinction between propaganda theatre and performance as 'resistance' using an example of 'military theatre' practice from Kosovo. I will argue that the categorisation of performance practice (particularly in post war writing) as either 'resistance' or 'propaganda' needs to be considered with caution. The location of practice within these two categories is a deeply political and partisan act: one person's propaganda is another's theatre of resistance. Performance practice in a war zone occupies, borrowing from Levi, a 'grey zone', one in which it may be neither good nor evil, neither free of ideology, nor completely evacuated of humanising properties.
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Journal Title
Performance Paradigm
Volume
3
Publisher URI
Copyright Statement
Permission received for self archiving purposes
Associate Professor Edward Scheer
Editor, Performance Paradigm
Subject
Art Theory and Criticism
Performing Arts and Creative Writing
Visual Arts and Crafts