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But not that: Caryl Churchill’s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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But not that: Caryl Churchill’s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium. / Aston, Elaine.
In: Modern Drama, Vol. 56, No. 2, 06.2013, p. 145-164.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Aston, E 2013, 'But not that: Caryl Churchill’s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium', Modern Drama, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 145-164. https://doi.org/10.3138/md.0521

APA

Aston, E. (2013). But not that: Caryl Churchill’s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium. Modern Drama, 56(2), 145-164. https://doi.org/10.3138/md.0521

Vancouver

Aston E. But not that: Caryl Churchill’s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium. Modern Drama. 2013 Jun;56(2):145-164. Epub 2013 Apr 30. doi: 10.3138/md.0521

Author

Aston, Elaine. / But not that : Caryl Churchill’s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium. In: Modern Drama. 2013 ; Vol. 56, No. 2. pp. 145-164.

Bibtex

@article{b1f8cf91a665491980ffc6d330ee0062,
title = "But not that: Caryl Churchill{\textquoteright}s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium",
abstract = "The article focuses on Caryl Churchill{\textquoteright}s This Is a Chair (1997) and Far Away (2000) to analyse Churchill{\textquoteright}s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium, when ideological resistance to capitalism has all but disappeared. Positioning This Is a Chair as a critical-political turning point in Churchill{\textquoteright}s repertoire, I argue that Ren{\'e} Magritte{\textquoteright}s visual thinking about the arbitrary relation of words and things is seminal to Churchill{\textquoteright}s struggle to create a political-theatre canvas. In relation to Far Away, I demonstrate how Churchill{\textquoteright}s critique of global capitalism involves a dissolve – the appearing, yet disappearing, traces of the Brechtian dramaturgy of her earlier playwriting, and a renewal of the epic through a composition that is both experiential and elliptical. Ultimately, the article argues that the need to impress on audiences the urgency of dis-identifying with capitalism informs Churchill{\textquoteright}s political perspective through a dialectic shift from Herbert Blau{\textquoteright}s “imminence of a {\textquoteleft}not-yet{\textquoteright}” to the negative of “but not that.”",
keywords = "Caryl Churchill, This Is a Chair, Far Away, Magritte, negative dialectic, political theatre",
author = "Elaine Aston",
year = "2013",
month = jun,
doi = "10.3138/md.0521",
language = "English",
volume = "56",
pages = "145--164",
journal = "Modern Drama",
issn = "0026-7694",
publisher = "University of Toronto Press",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - But not that

T2 - Caryl Churchill’s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium

AU - Aston, Elaine

PY - 2013/6

Y1 - 2013/6

N2 - The article focuses on Caryl Churchill’s This Is a Chair (1997) and Far Away (2000) to analyse Churchill’s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium, when ideological resistance to capitalism has all but disappeared. Positioning This Is a Chair as a critical-political turning point in Churchill’s repertoire, I argue that René Magritte’s visual thinking about the arbitrary relation of words and things is seminal to Churchill’s struggle to create a political-theatre canvas. In relation to Far Away, I demonstrate how Churchill’s critique of global capitalism involves a dissolve – the appearing, yet disappearing, traces of the Brechtian dramaturgy of her earlier playwriting, and a renewal of the epic through a composition that is both experiential and elliptical. Ultimately, the article argues that the need to impress on audiences the urgency of dis-identifying with capitalism informs Churchill’s political perspective through a dialectic shift from Herbert Blau’s “imminence of a ‘not-yet’” to the negative of “but not that.”

AB - The article focuses on Caryl Churchill’s This Is a Chair (1997) and Far Away (2000) to analyse Churchill’s political shape shifting at the turn of the millennium, when ideological resistance to capitalism has all but disappeared. Positioning This Is a Chair as a critical-political turning point in Churchill’s repertoire, I argue that René Magritte’s visual thinking about the arbitrary relation of words and things is seminal to Churchill’s struggle to create a political-theatre canvas. In relation to Far Away, I demonstrate how Churchill’s critique of global capitalism involves a dissolve – the appearing, yet disappearing, traces of the Brechtian dramaturgy of her earlier playwriting, and a renewal of the epic through a composition that is both experiential and elliptical. Ultimately, the article argues that the need to impress on audiences the urgency of dis-identifying with capitalism informs Churchill’s political perspective through a dialectic shift from Herbert Blau’s “imminence of a ‘not-yet’” to the negative of “but not that.”

KW - Caryl Churchill

KW - This Is a Chair

KW - Far Away

KW - Magritte

KW - negative dialectic

KW - political theatre

U2 - 10.3138/md.0521

DO - 10.3138/md.0521

M3 - Journal article

VL - 56

SP - 145

EP - 164

JO - Modern Drama

JF - Modern Drama

SN - 0026-7694

IS - 2

ER -