Performing Care

This collection delves into the intersection of performance and care ethics, rethinking how these concepts influence each other in various contexts.

In Performing Care, the intricate relationship between socially-engaged performance and care ethics is explored in depth. The book poses critical questions about how performance can be interpreted as either caring or uncaring, while also examining the notion of care as an embodied or aesthetic practice. The authors argue for a more nuanced understanding of art that emphasizes carefulness and the artistry of care, encouraging readers to reconsider traditional boundaries in these fields.

This edited collection features a diverse array of essays that foster an interdisciplinary dialogue between theatre, performance, and various domains of care studies, including health and social care. By advancing the concept of performance as a mode of care, the contributors challenge prevailing discussions and invite a re-examination of the caring encounter as a performative, embodied experience. The book delves into a spectrum of care performances from various international and interdisciplinary contexts, investigating how these performances can be perceived as caring, uncaring, careful, or careless.

Ultimately, Performing Care interrogates the intersection of performance and care, raising important questions about authenticity and the aesthetic dimensions of care practices. The collection not only enriches our understanding of these themes but also offers a fresh perspective on how care can be viewed as artful and staged, prompting readers to reflect on the complexities of care in contemporary society.