Manipulating Time as Abolition Dramaturgy

Abstract

This article considers theatrical manipulations of time as an abolition dramaturgy, or a theatrical technique that participates in the world-building project of abolition. First grappling with carceral and neoliberal notions of time, this article considers the ways that time is wielded as a weapon in dealing with conflict, resulting in what Ruth Wilson Gilmore refers to as a “premature death” of those deemed disposable within racial and carceral capitalism. Following this investigation of time as a decompositional tool, this article analyzes The Circle Project’s What Fools These Mortals Be, a filmed tableau vivant that contrasts the carceral weaponization of time with abolitionist dramaturgical generation, syncopation, and restart.