Towards a Conceptual Reading of Performance as a (Counter) Public Sphere

Abstract

ABSTRACTFocusing on two Zimbabwean protest productions that the authors witnessed, this article conceptualises protest theatre performances as a public spheres. Whereas the traditional application of this concept has been confined to post performance discussions and to some extent to citizens deliberating on issues of common interest in the Boalian sense, we wish to advance the notion that the world of the play itself represents a category of a public sphere which has received scant academic attention. We argue that as actors perform in plays that deal with issues of social change, citizenship and advocacy, they automatically create a primary public sphere, which is simultaneously reflective of other subaltern public spheres in the world beyond the theatrical public sphere. The actor then becomes a citizen that deliberates on issues of common interest. The article extends its analysis by exploring not just how plays function as public spheres but also how plays become public spheres that are liberating.