Performance and Evolution in the Age of Darwin: Out of the Natural Order

By: Jane Goodall

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Synopsis: Performance and Evolution in the Age of Darwin reveals the ways in which the major themes of evolution were taken up in the performing arts during Darwin's adult lifetime and in the generation after his death. The period 1830-1900 was the formative period for evolutionary ideas. While scientists and theorists investigated the law and order of nature, show business was more concerned with what was out of the natural order. Missing links and throwbacks, freak taxonomies and exotic races were favourite subject matter for the burgeoning variety theatre movement. Focusing on popular theatre forms in London, New York and Paris, Jane Goodall shows how they were interwoven with the developing debate about human evolution. With this book, Goodall contributes an important new angle to the debates surrounding the history of evolution. She reveals that, far from creating widespread culture shock, Darwinian theory tapped into some of the long-standing themes of popular performance and was a source for diverse and sometimes hilarious explorations.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9781134543861
Related ISBNs:: 9780203471494, 9780415243780, 9780415243780, 9780415243773, 9780415243773
Publisher:: Taylor and Francis
Date of Addition:: 05/14/20
Copyrighted By:: Jane R. Goodall
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: Entertainment, Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Literature and Fiction, Drama, Plays and Theater
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.