Performance and the Medical Body

Hardback

Main Details

Title Performance and the Medical Body
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Dr Alex Mermikides
Edited by Dr Gianna Bouchard
Series edited by Professor John Lutterbie
Series edited by Prof Nicola Shaughnessy
SeriesPerformance and Science: Interdisciplinary Dialogues
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:272
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 138
Category/GenreDrama
ISBN/Barcode 9781472570789
ClassificationsDewey:792.01
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Tertiary Education (US: College)

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publication Date 25 February 2016
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

This edited collection focuses on performance practice and analysis that engages with medical and biomedical sciences. After locating the 'biologization' of theatre at the turn of the twentieth century, it examines a range of contemporary practices that respond to understandings of the human body as revealed by biomedical science. In bringing together a variety of analytical perspectives, the book draws on scholars, scientists, artists and practices that are at the forefront of current creative, scientific and academic research. Its exploration of the dynamics and exchange between performance and medicine will stimulate a widening of the debate around key issues such as subjectivity, patient narratives, identity, embodiment, agency, medical ethics, health and illness. In focusing on an interdisciplinary understanding of performance, the book examines the potential of performance and theatre to intervene in, shape, inform and extend vital debates around biomedical knowledge and practice in the contemporary moment.

Author Biography

Dr Alex Mermikides is Senior Lecturer in Drama at Kingston University, London, UK. Her research interest is in contemporary performance-making, with a particular focus on science-engaged devised performance. Publications include Devising in Process (2010, edited with Jackie Smart), and chapters in other collections. Dr Gianna Bouchard is Principal Lecturer in Drama at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. Her research focuses on contemporary performance and live art in relation to medical science. She is co-editor of 'On Medicine', a special issue of Performance Research, and her work has been published in various edited collections.

Reviews

Anyone who keeps an open mind will be impressed by the potential of performance to both inspire and be inspired by debate around medical ethics and healthcare issues. -- Guy Glass * NYU School of Medicine's Literature Arts, and Medicine Database *