ABSTRACT

This article considers the theatre as a vital site for the formation of an ‘intergenerational polis’ through its examination of the verbatim play, Towards Youth: A play on radical hope, by Andrew Kushnir. Performed in Toronto from February to March, 2019, at Crow’s Theatre, Towards Youth attracted a uniquely intergenerational audience. Our audience research on this production, consisting of post-performance interviews, conducted in the lobby of Crow’s Theatre, gave rise to difficult dialogues between generations, particularly regarding questions of ‘intergenerational injustice’ at these times of economic, environmental, and socio-political precarity. We examine how discomfort,witnessing and vulnerability manifested in these audience interviews and in the development of a tentative and temporary ‘intergenerational polis’ in the theatre. We look to how the affective labour performed by the audience in these interviews sought to establish an ‘ethics of care’ between some younger and older audience members, as a practice of hope in uncertain times. This research gestures towards the importance of attuning to ‘dissensus’ in audience research towards the cultivation of a critical and civically-engaged spectatorship.

摘要

本文通过对安德鲁·库什尼尔的逐字剧《走向青春：一部关于激进希望的戏剧》的考察，将剧院视为形成“代际城邦”的重要场所。2019年2月至3月在多伦多克罗剧院演出《走向青春》吸引了独特的代际观众。我们对这部作品的观众研究，包括在克罗剧院大厅进行的演出后采访，引发了代际之间的艰难对话，特别是关于经济、环境和社会政治时代的“代际不公正”问题不稳定。我们研究了在这些观众访谈中以及在剧院中尝试性和暂时的“代际城邦”的发展中如何表现出不适、见证和脆弱性。我们关注观众在这些采访中所表现出的情感劳动如何在一些年轻和年长的观众之间建立一种“关怀伦理”，作为不确定时期的希望实践。