The City as theatre: the performing space

This research aims at investigating the theoretical basis, the role, and the regularities of performing arts in the urban environment. References to theatre and dance are abundant in urban studies, but they serve almost exclusively as metaphors. Investigating the specificity of performing arts will also allow clarifying the performative aspects of every artistic intervention in urban space. Indeed, from ancient rituals to contemporary street theatre, an intentional and staged action plays a central role not only in the processes of sense giving and community building, or in what is today called "placemaking," but also in the "production of space." Three main conceptual tools are identified: the rhythmanalytical method, as sketched by Lefebvre; the trialectical logic, as elaborated by the Situationist International; and the category of liminality, as defined by Turner. The second section of the work, called "Atlas," while working as a repertoire of case studies supporting the theoretical text, is also intended to work autonomously by building a parallel discourse through images. That section aims to demonstrate how a range of performance interventions produce the city and underscore the notion that theatre is a requirement in the production – or building – of urban space and, as such, forms a continuum with architecture and urban design. The thesis is completed with a section of interviews with choreographers and directors who have dedicated their attention to performance in the urban environment.