Political Theatre Today: The Art of Assembly

In his book The Art of Assembly. Political Theatre Today (2020/23), curator and author Florian Malzacher surveys the contemporary stage to demonstrate its political potential in both form and content. Citing numerous examples from around the world in performance, visual art and activism, he examines works that draw on the possibilities of theatre to navigate the space between representation and participation, both with levity and sincerity. In a time of wide-ranging crisis, The Art of Assembly is a plea for a strong definition of the political and for a theatre that is not content merely to reflect the world’s ills but, rather, acts to change them.

Florian Malzacher is a curator, writer and dramaturg, as well as the host of The Art of Assembly, a series of talks about the potential of gathering in art, activism and politics (2021–ongoing). His current projects include Training for the Future (2019–ongoing), a utopian training programme co-organized with artist Jonas Staal. He was artistic director of Impulse Theater Festival in Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mülheim an der Ruhr (2013–17), and co-curator of the multidisciplinary arts festival steirischer herbst in Graz, Austria (2006–12). He is co-author and co-editor of numerous publications on contemporary theatre, curating performing arts and the relationship between art and politics.