Suspending Disbelief: Theatre as Context for Sharing

Product Description

This is a book about the central principle of drama and theatre -- how we join up with one another in order to enjoy a play. This is the principle defined by Coleridge when he described poetry as involving 'the willing suspension of disbelief', a phrase often used by theatre critics and others, but one which is rarely examined in any detail, having as much to do with psychology as aesthetics. Roger Grainger is both a psychologist and an actor, and is thus uniquely placed to investigate this shared territory, not only from an academic viewpoint but also professionally, in 'hands-on' ways. Theatre has the ability to transfer reality: it promotes a situation where disbelief is willingly suspended in every gesture of demonstration or presentation. As a consequence, imaginative involvement is at the heart of theatrical endeavour, and thus has inevitable crucial repercussions for human happiness and well-being. Drama and the uses to which we put it represent part of the process of
living our lives -- dram


About the Author

Roger Grainger is the author of a number of books, including The Language of the Rite (Darton, Longman and Todd); The Message of the Rite (Lutterworth); and The Drama of the Rite (published by SAP in 2008), the final book in the trilogy. He has also written about therapeutic theatre, group spirituality, and bereavement; and combines parish work with his practice as a Chartered Counselling Psychologist. His latest book is Nine Ways the Theatre Affects Our Lives.