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9781009167994

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'This fascinating re-reading of political thought and practice questions our political values through the observation of democratic behaviour. Historical debates become performance events. Refreshingly, Wiles interprets the democratic process through a combined exploration of intellectual argument and the theatrical mode of political delivery.' Vicki Ann Cremona, Professor in Theatre Studies, University of Malta 'This impressive study, arguing that democracy and theatre are grounded in the same cultural practices of rhetoric and performativity in ancient Greece, offers the reader important new insights into both of these two phenomena as parallel working experimental laboratories in social interaction.' Marvin Carlson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, The Graduate Center, City University of New York 'Democracy is a spectacle as well as a practice, as much the province of rhetoric as it is of political science. In this fascinating book, David Wiles uses the techniques of theatrical performance and sheds unusual light on democratic politics.' Philip Collins, columnist, The Times and former Chief Speech Writer to Prime Minister Tony Blair 'In this wide-ranging, densely argued book, David Wiles interrogates the intricate and conflictual relationship between theatre and democracy. Since their coeval emergence in fifth-century Athens, these two interrelated institutions have tussled with a set of apparent contradictions that Wiles analyses in superb detail: sincerity and rhetorical technique, rational argument versus affect, individuality versus collective appeal. He marshals not just a set of recurring arguments but a compelling cast of characters from Demosthenes to Gandhi who 'act out' these principles across the centuries and cultures.' Christopher Balme, Professor of Theatre Studies, LMU Munich

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David Wiles is Emeritus Professor of Drama at the University of Exeter. He has written and edited many books, including Greek Theatre Performance (2000), Theatre and Citizenship (2011), The Players' Advice to Hamlet (2020) and The Cambridge Companion to Theatre History (2013), all published by Cambridge University Press.

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