Of Precariousness

Drawing primarily on Judith Butlers, Jacques Derridas, Emmanuel Levinass and Jean-Luc Nancys reflections on precariousness/precarity, the Self and the Other, ethical responsibility/obligation, forgiveness, hos(ti)pitality and community, the essays in this volume examine the various ways in which contemporary British drama and theatre engage with the precarious. Crucially, what emerges from the discussion of a wide range of plays including Jez Butterworths Jerusalem, Caryl Churchills Here We Go, Martin Crimps Fewer Emergencies and In the Republic of Happiness, Tim Crouchs The Author, Forced Entertainments Tomorrows Parties, David Greigs The American Pilot and The Events, Dennis Kellys Love and Money, Mark Ravenhills Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat, Philip Ridleys Mercury Fur, Robin Soanss Talking to Terrorists, Simon Stephenss Pornography, theTheatre Uncut project, debbie tucker greens dirty butterfly and Laura Wades Posh is the observation that contemporary (British) drama and theatre often realises its thematic and formal/structural potential to the full precisely by reflecting upon the category and the episteme of precariousness, and deliberately turning audience members into active participants in the process of negotiating ethical agency.