Dr Nic Fryer, Senior Lecturer in Acting and Performing Arts, has co-edited a new collection published in the internationally renowned Performance Philosophy series. ‘Rancière and Performance’ is the first to investigate the points of contact between the work of Jacques Rancière, a leading French political philosopher, and the field of theatre and performance studies.

Working with Colette Conroy, director of the Institute of Arts, University of Cumbria, on the edited collection, Nic has written the introduction, applying some of Rancière’s ideas to a protest made by the cast of Hamilton to the previous US Vice-President Mike Pence, and a chapter discussing some of Rancière’s writings on political community, considering this in relation to Duncan Macmillan’s play People, Places and Things.  

The book seeks a detailed critical assessment of Rancière’s works and their implications for theatre and performance studies. It includes contributions by ten key academics from the UK, US and Europe, examining the critical and analytical interventions that have been made to date and looking forward towards challenges to the future uses of Rancière’s work in performance and theatre studies. It considers a wide range of performance work, from a performance for the residents of a Victorian workhouse to the activist performances of Liberate Tate.

The collection has already received accolades from leading academics. Tony Fisher, reader in theatre and philosophy, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, said, “Although a decade has passed since the English publication of the Emancipated Spectator, Rancière’s thought has lost none of its power to unsettle preconceptions regarding art and politics.

“Fryer and Conroy's timely volume proves the point. Its judicious selection of essays probe the potentialities and – yes – frustrations for theatre and performance scholars engaging with the dissensus at the heart of Rancière’s project.”

Sophie Nield, senior lecturer in drama, Royal Holloway, University of London, commented, “This timely collection of new essays provides a fascinating survey of the work of Jacques Rancière and its impact on cutting-edge thinking in theatre and performance studies.

“In a series of provocative and inspiring engagements, theatre and performance are offered here as sites for destabilising the hierarchies of expertise and experience, exploding myths of the passive spectator, and framing some of the most urgent political questions of our time.”

Nic Fryer also said, “I’m really proud of this book.

“It has taken us around six years to get together, but the journey has been well worth it. I hope it will prove to be a significant collection in this field.”

Rancière and Performance is available on Amazon, Rowman, and at Barnes and Noble.