Peta Tait Knihy

Exploring 140 years of high-wire acrobatics, this study delves into the evolution of trapeze acts since 1859, showcasing the blend of artistry and athleticism in aerial performance. Peta Tait examines how these performances reflect and challenge societal notions of gender and sexuality, prompting questions about spectatorship and cultural identity. The book highlights the dynamic interplay between physicality and identity in the context of aerial movement, offering a unique perspective on the significance of circus bodies in cultural discourse.

Exploring the representation of emotion in drama, theatre, and contemporary performance, this book delves into the complexities of human and nonhuman emotional experiences. It examines various forms and expressions of emotion, highlighting their diverse manifestations in performance art. Through critical analysis, the work sheds light on the intricate relationship between emotion and performance, offering insights into how these art forms convey and interpret emotional landscapes.

Theory for Theatre Emotion explores how emotion is communicated in drama, theatre, and contemporary performance and therefore in society. From Aristotle and Shakespeare to Stanislavski, Brecht and Caryl Churchill, theatre reveals and, informs but also warns about the emotions. The term 'emotion' encompasses the emotions, emotional feelings, affect and mood, and the book explores how these concepts are embodied and experienced within theatrical practice and explained in theory. Since emotion is artistically staged, its composition and impact can be described and analysed in relation to interdisciplinary approaches. Readers are encouraged to consider how emotion is dramatically, aurally, and visually developed to create innovative performance.Case studies Medea , Twelfth Night , The Caucasian Chalk Circle , Ibsen's A Doll's House , and performances by Mabou Mines, Robert Lepage, Rimini Protokoll, Anna Deavere Smith, Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio, Marina Abramovic, and The Wooster Group. By way of these detailed case studies, readers will appreciate new methodologies and approaches for their own exploration of 'emotion' as a performance component.Online resources to accompany this book are available at

19th-century menageries reflected a human capacity for fighting, aggression and dominance over nature, and echoed a cultural fascination with war and colonial expansion. Their legacy embedded in society a belief in the human right to exploit other animal species - a belief yet to be defeated.