Performative potential of social theatre: The latest Russian dramaturgy on the problems of inclusion

Abstract

The article is devoted to such a phenomenon of contemporary culture as social theatre, which can be attributed to the most important phenomena of the theatrical process of the last two decades in Russia. Social theatre exists on the border of art and sociological, pedagogical and psychological practices. Social theatre has a great potential for a performative twist, because along with classical and avant-garde performative techniques, the theatre actively uses the techniques of ‘new documentarism’: storytelling, verbatim, elements of forum theatre, play-backs, theatre therapy, and others. Social theatre or theatre of social change brings to light people with mental, social, age, etc. characteristics. Along with ‘participatory theatre’, professional playwrights try to find new artistic (verbal and non-verbal) forms to reflect in a text, intended for production in professional theatre, the possibilities of developing empathy in society towards a wide variety of socio-medical populations. As an example, the article analyses plays by contemporary authors that address the problems of inclusion, in particular, the possibilities of socialization of adolescents with special needs, and also the ones realizing the potential of new performativity: Dana Sideros ‘To Whom It May Concern’, Marta Raitses ‘I Am a Fist. I Am A-N-N-A’, Alexander Ignashov “Special People”.