International Theatre Festivals and Twenty-First-Century Interculturalism

Description

Ric Knowles' study is a politically urgent, erudite intervention into the ecology of theatre and performance festivals in an international context. Since the 1990s there has been an exponential increase in the number and type of festivals taking place around the world. Events that used merely to be events are now 'festivalized': structured, marketed, and promoted in ways that stress urban centres as tourist destinations and "creative cities" as targets of corporate enterprise. Ric Knowles examines the structure, content, and impact of international festivals that draw upon and represent multiple cultures and the roles they play in one of the most urgent processes of our times: intercultural negotiation and exchange. Covering a vast geographical sweep and exploring festival models both new and ancient, the work sets compelling new standards of practice for post-pandemic festivals.

Ric Knowles is University Professor Emeritus in the School of English and Theatre Studies at The University of Guelph, Ontario. He is the award-winning author of eight and editor of thirteen books on theatre and performance, as well as a former editor of Theatre Journal, Modern Drama, and Canadian Theatre Review. Among many book and essay prizes, he has won the Excellence in Editing (Sustained Achievement) Award from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the Lifetime Achievement award from the Canadian Association for Theatre Research, and the Distinguished Scholar award from the American Society for Theatre Research. He is also a practicing professional play devisor and dramaturg and a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.