How does protest engage with theatre? What does theatre have to gain from protest? Theatre and protest are often closely interlinked in the contemporary cultural and political landscape, and the line between protest and performance is often difficult to draw. Yet this relationship is also beset with doubts about theatre’s capacity to intervene in the social world. This fresh and insightful text thinks through the intersections and tensions between theatre and protest. Exploring the cross-fertilization of international theatre and protest across the 12th and 21st centuries, Lara Shalson illuminates how and why these two are mutually influencing and enriching forms.

"Filled with astute, illuminating examples - from Pussy Riot to curtain speeches at Hamilton, from guerrilla theatre to plays by Ibsen, Brecht, and Eve Ensler, and from stage to street and back - Shalson’s book demonstrates how theatre offers sites and strategies with which to protest the exercise of power. Shalson’s concise treatment yields insightful analysis, useful to teaching, to art-making, and to witnessing performances of resistance." - Jill Dolan, Princeton University, USA