Posthumanism and Darwin in Dialogue: The Evolution of a Contemporary Conceptualization of Theatre and Performance

Abstract

Over the years, there has been a turn in the academy that is adopted as the postmodern era which encompasses the posthumanist, and a shift within it to new materialist, and affect theories. Human-dominant influence over natural elements such as flora and fauna, non-human animals, material, and immaterial objects is subjected to a radical shift. The innovative understanding of science and technology plays a crucial role in this current wave. Posthumanist thought comes in contact with a human-centered society, however, proposing a decentralized approach to the way humans perceive themselves in the environment. The politics at play here is not anti-humanist but a revisiting and acknowledgment of the environmental entities that make up the human space. Therefore, this paper takes an expository inquiry, querying if the knowledge of Darwin’s evolutionary theory can be applied to the understanding of artistic performance through a posthumanist approach. Also, does posthumanism and the evolution of contemporary performance have what it takes to affect and effect the desired modification, granting agency not only to the human animals but to other non-human entities? Hence, humans must learn to coexist in the ecological space sharing power amongst things, plants, non-human animals, objects, and other forms of technological creations. Methodologically, the online library sources provide primary data for this research with a selection of works by three posthumanist performers to be analyzed. This research is pivotal to the artistic application of biology and technology, as tools in solving contemporary performance-related issues amongst humans, the organic and inorganic matter.