All theater is revolutionary theater /

The difficulty with Bennett's book begins with the title word "revolutionary." It sometimes means the inherent quality of dramatic theater to overthrow the conservative tendency of literature and at other times means the ability of theater to put in motion forces that will change society. These two ideas are compatible but not identical. Because progressive theater seldom exerts influence on politics/government, Bennett has a tough (maybe impossible) sell. The chapters on Aristotle's Poetics and Diderot's Paradoxe sur le comedien offer necessary new readings of these fundamental texts and constitute the most convincing parts of the book. Bennett strengthens his argument by including in the discussion ultraconservative writers whose works cannot escape the revolutionary dynamics of performance. In the pivotal chapter, "Performance and the Exposure of Hermeneutics," Bennett discusses what he calls "hermeneutic space": submitting texts to interpretation, which leads to understanding and meaning, which in turn produces new texts that are submitted to the same process. Bennett claims this process has over time acquired the power of ideology with the earmarks of political oppression. This conservative authority can be undermined only by performance: (conservative) literature and (revolutionary) performance collide in the theater. Though neither transparent nor always convincing, this book will compel readers to rethink theater. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Graduate and research collections. R. C. Conard University of Dayton