Theatrical Event-Machines

Theatrical Event-Machines provides a theoretical approach to a populartheatrical form whose invaluable contribution to British theatrehas been underestimated so far. The book examines canonical Britishfarces published in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s and proposes that theaporetic conceptualisation of the event which makes a farce farcical isbest described by Jacques Derrida's notion of the event-machine. Thethree thematic chapters explore farcical eventfulness in relation to keyconcepts of both Poststructuralism and the theatre, namely genre, performance,and mediality. In addition to performing close readings ofplays written by Alan Ayckbourn, Michael Frayn, Joe Orton, and TomStoppard, the chapters discuss selected deconstructionist writings ofDerrida. The study shows that farce subverts genre conventions byundoing events, that it rehearses events to undermine the separationbetween an allegedly finalised text and imperfect performances, andthat it toys with media-induced presences and absences in order toscrutinise the power of the event. Theatrical Event-Machines illustrateshow the rise of Poststructuralism in the 1960s has influenced farce -and vice versa. What is more, the thorough analyses presented in thisstudy reveal the self-reflexivity and the meta-theatricality inherent infarce and its potential to enact theory.