Australian Theatre and Performance

This subject is a study of the Australian performing arts from 1960 to the present with a special focus on the shift from national drama to diversity, and from the sole-authored play to devised and collaborative theatre. The study is framed by the changing landscape of Australian culture and the key insights of modernism, postcolonialism, feminism and gender theory. Students will read selected plays in relation to context, genre, and performance history; view DVDs of live performance; engage in online and library-based archival research; and undertake detailed textual and performance analysis; and investigate the role of performance as a medium of cultural life.