Authenticity in Contemporary Theatre and Performance

Authenticity is one of the major values of our time. It is visible everywhere from clothing to food to self-help books. While it is such a prevalent phenomenon it is also very evasive. This study analyses the 'culture of authenticity' as it relates to theatre and establishes a theoretical framework for analysis. Daniel Schulz argues that authenticity is sought out and marked by the individual and springs from a culture that is perceived as inherently fake and lacking depth. The study examines three types of performances that exemplify this structure of feeling: intimate theatre seen in Forced Entertainment productions such as <i>Quizoola!</i> (1996 2015) as well as one-on-one performances such as Oentroerend Goed's <i>Internal</i> (2009); immersive theatres as illustrated by Punchdrunk's shows <i>The Masque of the Red Death</i> (2007) and <i>The Drowned Man</i> (2013) which provide a visceral sensate understanding for audiences; finally the study scrutinises the popular category of documentary theatre through various examples such as Robin Soan's <i>Talking to Terrorists</i> (2005) David Hare's <i>Stuff Happens</i> (2004) Edmund Burke's <i>Black Watch</i> (2007) and Dennis Kelly's pseudo-documentary play <i>Taking Care of Baby</i> (2007). It is specifically the value of the document that lends such performances their truth-value and consequently their authenticity. <br/><br/>The study analyses how the success of these disparate categories of performance can be explained through a common concern with notions of truth and authenticity. It argues that this hunger for authentic unmediated experience is characteristic of a structure of feeling that has superseded postmodernism and that actively seeks to resignify artistic and cultural practices of the everyday.