Nicholas Ridout is Lecturer in Performance at the School of English and Drama, Queen Mary, University of London.

• Part I: 1. From the promise of performance to the return of theatre; 2. Kleist's Uber das Marionettentheater; 3. From an ethics of performance to an affective politics of theatre; Part II. Stage Fright: The Predicament of the Actor: 1. In an 'awful hole'; 2. A very 'modern' hole; 3. Into the hole and out: diagnosis and cure; 4. Abject hole: first 'blowback'; 5. Face your fear; Part III. Embarrassment: The Predicament of the Audience: 1. Please don't look at me; 2. What is embarrassment?; 3. Towards a politics of shame; Part IV. The Animal on Stage: 1. Mouse in the house; 2. Signs of labour; 3. Animal politics; Part V. Mutual Predicaments: Corpsing and Fiasco: 1. Laughter; 2. Corpsing; 3. Fiasco; 4. Forced entertainment; 5. Lyotard on theatre: 'last blowback'; Afterword; Bibliography.

'… an intelligent and likeable study that merely attempts a virtually holistic understanding of theatre in its fullest possible contest.' The Times Literary Supplement

Nicholas Ridout is Lecturer in Performance at the School of English and Drama, Queen Mary, University of London.

• Part I: 1. From the promise of performance to the return of theatre; 2. Kleist's Uber das Marionettentheater; 3. From an ethics of performance to an affective politics of theatre; Part II. Stage Fright: The Predicament of the Actor: 1. In an 'awful hole'; 2. A very 'modern' hole; 3. Into the hole and out: diagnosis and cure; 4. Abject hole: first 'blowback'; 5. Face your fear; Part III. Embarrassment: The Predicament of the Audience: 1. Please don't look at me; 2. What is embarrassment?; 3. Towards a politics of shame; Part IV. The Animal on Stage: 1. Mouse in the house; 2. Signs of labour; 3. Animal politics; Part V. Mutual Predicaments: Corpsing and Fiasco: 1. Laughter; 2. Corpsing; 3. Fiasco; 4. Forced entertainment; 5. Lyotard on theatre: 'last blowback'; Afterword; Bibliography.

'… an intelligent and likeable study that merely attempts a virtually holistic understanding of theatre in its fullest possible contest.' The Times Literary Supplement

Nicholas Ridout is Lecturer in Performance at the School of English and Drama, Queen Mary, University of London.

• Part I: 1. From the promise of performance to the return of theatre; 2. Kleist's Uber das Marionettentheater; 3. From an ethics of performance to an affective politics of theatre; Part II. Stage Fright: The Predicament of the Actor: 1. In an 'awful hole'; 2. A very 'modern' hole; 3. Into the hole and out: diagnosis and cure; 4. Abject hole: first 'blowback'; 5. Face your fear; Part III. Embarrassment: The Predicament of the Audience: 1. Please don't look at me; 2. What is embarrassment?; 3. Towards a politics of shame; Part IV. The Animal on Stage: 1. Mouse in the house; 2. Signs of labour; 3. Animal politics; Part V. Mutual Predicaments: Corpsing and Fiasco: 1. Laughter; 2. Corpsing; 3. Fiasco; 4. Forced entertainment; 5. Lyotard on theatre: 'last blowback'; Afterword; Bibliography.

'… an intelligent and likeable study that merely attempts a virtually holistic understanding of theatre in its fullest possible contest.' The Times Literary Supplement