Theatrical-political possibilities in contemporary procession

Abstract

In this article, the author presents a range of analyses that underscore the experience of different forms of the processual as integral to the production and reception of theatre and performance in the post-political condition. In particular, the article focuses on the politics of ‘nigredo’ and the ideological potency of the procession's ‘offstage’ by addressing Francis Alÿs's work, ‘The Modern Procession’. The collective realm of the ‘nigredo’ presupposes a chaotic mixing of different elements, where one cannot discriminate between elements. In view of that, the boundaries between the public and the offstage of the procession become blurred, and the dynamics of the collective are reconsidered.

Keywords:

• procession
• spatial
• theatricality
• collective wandering
• offstage politics