Virtual Theatres

The first full-length book of its kind to offer an investigation of the interface between theatre, performance and digital arts, Virtual Theatres presents the theatre of the twenty-first century in which everything - even the viewer - can be simulated. In this fascinating volume, Gabriella Giannachi analyzes the aesthetic concerns of current computer-arts practices through discussion of a variety of artists and performers including: * blast Theory * Merce Cunningham * Eduardo Kac * forced entertainment * Lynn Hershman * Jodi Orlan * Guillermo Gómez-Peña * Marcel-lí Antúnez Roca * Jeffrey Shaw * Stelarc. Virtual Theatres not only allows for a reinterpretation of what is possible in the world of performance practice, but also demonstrates how 'virtuality' has come to represent a major parameter for our understanding and experience of contemporary art and life.

Gabriella Giannachi is a lecturer in Theatre Studies at the University of Lancaster, where her specialist areas include new technologies and performance. She is also co-editor of On Directing (1999) and co-author of Staging the Post-Avant-Garde (2002).

Introduction 1 Hypertextualities 2 Cyborg theatre 3 The (re-)creation of nature 4 Performing through the hypersurface 5 Towards an aesthetic of virtual reality, Conclusion