Dissensual politics: a critical review of Clare Woodford’s Disorientating democracy

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Notes

1. The Theatre of the Absurd is a theatrical movement that emerged in the 1950s. It was initially influenced by existentialism, and sought to challenge the ‘common’ sense of everyday life through performance and action. Woodford traces the history of the absurd to argue that it is not just an artistic genre but also a political practice.

2. Influenced by educator Paulo Freire, during the 1960s Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal created the Theatre of the Oppressed, using theatre as a tool for social change by challenging oppressions in everyday life. This approach sought to overcome the spectator/actor divide so that the audience became active as ‘spect-actors.’