‘The very cunning of the scene’: notes towards a common dispositive for theatre and philosophy

‘L’action seule de la scène’: notes pour un dispositif commun pour le théâtre et la philosophie

Abstract:

The article suggests that eavesdropping scenes contain the key to a fundamental dispositive of the theatre, that reinforces the intricate metatheatrical dimensions of any performance and amplifies its philosophical aspects. In order to make this claim clear, the article discusses the idea of a dispositive, a concept broadly taken from Foucault (1980; 1986) and applies its self-reflexive dimensions to a number of examples from different plays, in order to demonstrate as those work both as scores for performances as well as texts with a philosophical character.

Keywords:
Eavesdropping; Dispositive; Metatheatre; Philosophy of Drama; Performance Philosophy