Introduction

By exploring contemporary understandings of race and racism, and examining recent literature on theatre and race, Morosetti and Okagbue illustrate the rationale behind their volume and provide key terms and readings to further contextualise debates on the subject. Reflecting on the permanence of racism in contemporary society, and taking into account the campaign of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer 2020, the authors argue for an innovative approach to the subject that goes into three main directions. The first is the privileging of case studies from under-represented geographical areas that may counterbalance the preponderance of American examples and theory in previous studies; the second is a consideration of colour as a prominent but by no means exclusive factor in constructions of race; and the final is a focus on the understanding and representations of whiteness in different contexts. Chapters and sections are also illustrated with suggestions for cross-reading.