Scenes of Suffering

This special issue explores critical perspectives and artistic practices related to representations of pain, suffering, and trauma on the contemporary stage. Through essays and performance texts—all of which are richly illustrated with production photographs—this issue sheds new light on how theater and performance reckon with historical and recent instances of terror, oppression, and degradation. The contributors to this issue offer both context for these recent artistic developments and reflections on how theater and performance may adapt and respond to today’s crises, whether they be personal, political, or environmental.

Contributors: David Bruin, Faedra Chatard Carpenter, Tucker Culbertson, Andrew Friedman, M. Lamar, Tom Sellar, Aaron C. Thomas, Ann Liv Young