On-site PhD conferral Franciscus J.W. Mineur

Keywords: experience theater, criticism, autonomy, public sphere

"Theater in een belevingscultuur. Nieuwe rollen, nieuwe mogelijkheden van kritiek" [in Dutch]

From cultural institutions who welcome their visitors as ‘guests’ or ‘friends’ and invites them in forms of cooperation, to theater makers which invites the audience to play an active role in their performances,- the theater audiences gets roles as co-creators, programmers, ambassadors and critics. This tendency of co-operation, of being an active guest, is one of the striking features of an experience culture in which being in the middle of the happenings can be an attractive but also authoritative situation.

But what does this mean for the critical distance which was always so important in the modern theatre practice?

In this dissertation, the author describes how under the regime of the experience culture important values, namely notions of autonomy, of the public sphere and of criticism, are changing. This study also offers concepts and perspectives which can be useful for a critical discourse among makers, institutions and audiences.

Click here for the full dissertation. 

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