The Creation of New Meaning in Contemporary Intercultural Performance

Abstract

The global movement of peoples and the changing demographics of an ever-more globalized world are undoubtedly becoming increasingly reflected in theatrical practice. Contemporary intercultural performance has become a way for first/second-generation, migrant, immigrant, and exilic artists to re-inscribe and reclaim their agency and cultural identities. This thesis argues for a new method of analysis of intercultural theatre that moves away from the historically "alimentary" relationship between performance cultures - in which one (often the West) borrows and takes from the other (often "the Rest") for its own benefit - towards a methodology of performance analysis that encourages agency of creation with the performer through a more bi-directional or fluid process of intercultural exchange (Lo and Gilbert 43). In looking at three contemporary performances, Fish Eyes by Anita Majumdar, Obaaberima by Tawiah M'Carthy, and DESH by Akram Khan, I argue for a four-point model of performance analysis: encounter, intention, negotiation and emergence. I argue that these four elements are all present within the process of construction and reception of an intercultural performance, and that in deploying them, the artist is able to usher in the creation of new meaning - both semantically and aesthetically - through the means of intercultural exchange.