The relation between ecocriticism, critical animal studies and theater

Abstract EN

Theater is an effective cultural and communal institution that should be part of the ecological problem.

Both founding an eco-canon and rereading the depiction of nature on stage, are fundamental tasks in order to apply ecocriticism to theater studies.

Critical Animal Studies is a field that has been developed during the recent decades to study the role of animals in human societies.

It aims at uncovering the ideologies that pervade our cultural practices and presenting a new conception of the relation between species.

Engaging theater studies with critical animal studies promises a change by bringing ecological and species issues live to the community.

What differentiates the CAS approach from old approaches regarding animals is that we no more focus on the symbolism or the imagery that the animal stands for but on the real animals and their lives.