Cultural materialism and the politics of performance

Abstract

Cultural materialism is a theoretical approach rooted in the work of Raymond Williams and the unapologetically left-wing academic and educational project of British cultural studies. It conceptualises culture as a site of social and political struggle and active meaning-making. This chapter argues that cultural materialism, although retaining a ‘residual’ status in contemporary theatre and performance studies, has renewed significance and urgency in a cultural moment marked by resurgent right-wing politics and the enduring grip of neoliberal capitalism. Cultural materialism urges us to examine the socio-material conditions under which artworks are produced, and to analyse how they reinforce or challenge social hierarchies and power relations. The author begins by positioning cultural materialism against some of the dominant approaches in the field, highlighting its potential to reinvigorate activist energies in performance scholarship and to reimagine theatre as a space for social and political change. Following a discussion of key concepts—including the distinction between emergent, residual and dominant cultures, as well as structure of feeling—the chapter demonstrates this method through an analysis of the work of Dutch comedian Theo Maassen and scenographer/theatre maker Dries Verhoeven, using a cultural materialist lens to reveal the shifting political and ideological implications of their work.