Alexander, J. C. (2014) The Fate of the Dramatic in Modern Society: Social Theory and the Theatrical Avant-Garde. Theory, Culture & Society, 31(1) 3-24.

• “Avant-garde theatre is often invoked as the bellwether for a society that has become postdramatic – fragmented, alienated, and critical of efforts to create collectively shared meanings.” (3)
• “A theatre whose sequenced actions have no narrative (so the story goes) mirrors a social world where the most conflictual situations no longer appear as drama but merely as spectacle: a society where audiences look on without any feeling or connection” (3)
• “Neither in theatre nor social life can the world transcend dramaturgy; it is fundamental to the search for meaning in a world beyond cosmological religion.” (3)