In this course about Eco-theatre, we will read a variety of plays that directly deal with the human impact on environmental change—including global warming, pollution, and wildlife extinction—and the roles played by individuals, classes, communities, and governments in dealing with environmental protection and destruction. We will also explore ecocriticism’s usefulness in unearthing new perspectives regarding traditional plays and dramas not directly engaged with environmental issues but that can tangentially reveal an understanding and concern about the natural environment.
The texts, however, are not all ‘gloom and doom’ and we will also consider the role of comedy in helping us to persevere and survive environmental hardship. We will also keep in mind theatre’s aesthetic responsibilities to persuade through artfulness. We will examine the various theatre forms and constructions, rhetoric and styles to address ‘hyperobjects’—crises such as global warming that are so large that individuals have a difficult time conceiving of them, let alone addressing them. We will not only investigate the approach of realistic playwrights, but also those works that conceive of theatrical worlds that are more abstract, spiritual, and magical.