Postdramatic Theatre

Hans-Thies Lehmann identifies a fundamental shift in performance art where the written text no longer serves as the primary governing authority. He argues that since the late 1960s, theatre has moved beyond the Aristotelian model of imitation and linear action into a postdramatic mode. This framework prioritizes visual landscape, auditory texture, and the physical presence of the performer over narrative logic. Lehmann analyzes the techniques used by practitioners like Robert Wilson, the Wooster Group, and Heiner Müller to explain how contemporary performance deconstructs traditional hierarchies of stagecraft and audience perception.

Scholars and students of performance studies use this text to classify experimental works that resist conventional dramatic labels. It provides a technical vocabulary for discussing how multimedia, non-linear timing, and abstract movement operate on stage. Readers gain a theoretical lens to interpret modern productions as aesthetic events rather than literary adaptations. By studying these case studies, practitioners find intellectual justification for prioritizing sensory environments and live interactions over the faithful delivery of a script.

Deep, outward-looking and open-ended; a demanding read.

Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?