Performing Ethos: International Journal of Ethics in Theatre & Performance - Volume 11, Issue 1, 2021

When identifying risk and ethical issues in live performance the focus is predominantly framed around the audience, and even more so with the popularity of immersive theatre. However, with the unpredictability of audience behaviour in immersive work, the safety of performers is starting to rise to the surface. For example, concerns of performer safety in the immersive work of Punchdrunk were raised in 2018, including allegations of sexual assault against performers by audience members who were veiled behind the anonymity of white masks. This visual article will refocus the discussion of risk onto the performer, as well as on the often overlooked theatrical element of costume and its potential impact on performer behaviour and embodiment, in addition to the impact it can have on the audience. The live performance case study Six O’clock Swill (2009), a piece based on Mr Punch, will be used to interrogate perspectives on these performative risks.

This article discusses the relationship between ethics and ideology and how this relationship forms the basis of the practice of BloodWater Theatre, a collective I formed to explore equality in collaborative theatre-making. I highlight the prevalence of inequality, even in oppositional theatre, and argue for Dialectical Collaborative Theatre (DCT), a research/production/performance methodology I developed to interrupt hegemonic collaborative theatre practice. I discuss the development of DCT, derived from Marx’s theory of ‘capital’ and ‘cooperation’, analysing BloodWater Theatre’s practical exploration of the tensions between performance as product and as process. I propose a rethinking of the enduring association of ‘utility’ with capitalist objectives of productivity and profit, proposing instead Bentham’s ethical formulations of utility. I argue that the relationship between material and non-material ideology should be explored, to facilitate utopian ideals and reposition ethics in collaborative theatre practice today.

This article examines the unexpected ethical issues that emerged from Finnexia^®, a performance art intervention. Finnexia consisted of an advertisement campaign for a fictitious medication that helps people learn the Finnish language. Presented in the Helsinki Central Railway Station, the Finnexia performance aimed to generate a space for public dialogue about the experience of immigrants in Finland and the process of learning the Finnish language. On a secondary level, Finnexia presented a satirical critique towards the excess of medicalization in society. Through a detailed description of the Finnexia performance and its outcomes, the author examines the complexity of ethical issues that emerged from the Finnexia performance. The responsibility of the artist is discussed in the context of public performance in art practice and in artistic research. The author proposes that artists approach ethical considerations during the creative process through self-reflection, dialogue with fellow performers and in consultation with experts in the field.

Review of: Dance and Activism: A Century of Radical Dance Across the World, Dana Mills (2021)

London: Bloomsbury, 216 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-35013-701-1, h/bk, £76.50

ISBN 978-1-35013-702-8, e-PDF, £61.20

ISBN 978-1-35013-703-5, e-Pub, £61.20

Review of: A Companion to British-Jewish Theatre since the 1950s, Jeanette R. Malkin, Eckart Voigts and Sarah Jane Ablett (Eds) (2021)

London: Bloomsbury, 272 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-35013-597-0, e-book, £76.50

ISBN 978-1-35013-596-3, h/bk, £85.00