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This book argues that theatre and drama help us to understand the concern about ‘fake news’. Moran shows that ‘fake news’ has arisen in the twenty-first century through what are essentially a series of performance contexts. Although the concept of ‘fake news’ has developed to great prominence since 2016, there is a much longer history of theatre makers and thinkers grappling with the ideas that underpin our modern worries about misinformation being distributed in the press, in broadcast news, and via social media.
‘It is quite simply brilliant; highly scholarly but very readable, deeply critical but accessible, really intelligent and beautifully written. James Moran takes us on the dark journey of fake news, its histories, and contemporary applications and how our theatre makers have responded, often in ingenious ways, to our designed stupidification. Highly recommended!’ —Dr Gary Anderson, Associate Professor of Drama, Liverpool Hope University, UK.
‘James Moran analyses tensions among fictions and public life, from teatron to cyber-space, exposing unexpected conflicts, connections, and continuities. He re-frames, not only how we understand a phrase appropriated by Donald Trump, but the lively interplay of audiences, theatre, and news, from Shakespeare to Littlewood, Arnold Wesker to Lucy Kirkwood.’ —Victor Merriman, Professor of Critical Studies in Drama, Department of English, History, and Creative Writing, Edge Hill University, UK.
‘This is an astute and cogently argued book. In providing readings of an impressive array of plays, James Moran shows that while journalism has at times failed to maintain an allegiance to upholding the truth and holding those in power to account, theatre has often served as an effective media critic.’ —Brad Kent, Professor of British and Irish Literatures at Université Laval, Quebec.
Acknowledgements; Part One: Performing Fake News; Part Two: Fake News and the Western Dramatic Tradition; Bibliography; Index