Dear Colleagues
New book announcement...
Performing Dark Arts: A Cultural History of Conjuring
By Michael Mangan
Published by Intellect
9781841501499 / £19.95, $35.00
From David Blaine’s death-defying feats of will to Harry Potter’s
boarding-school victories against evil forces, the darker side of magic and
its performance clearly strikes a cultural nerve. The conjuror’s act of
bringing the impossible into being and summoning both the grotesque and
marvellous with a sudden gesture challenges spectators’ assumptions of
reality and fantasy. Performing Dark Arts explores the paradox of the
conjuror and the broader cultural implications of magic’s assault on human
perception. Michael Mangan illuminates the history of the conjuring arts and
tests the boundaries of theatrical scholarship by analyzing magic acts
alongside more conventional dramatic forms. This original volume discusses
the performances of individual magicians and public reception of their acts
and locates the mysterious cultural significance of the dark arts and those
who practice them. Shining a light on the grey area between acting and
being, perception and reality, Performing Dark Arts is a book that will open
your mind to the possibilities of magic.
‘This is an erudite book which wears its scholarship lightly and is a
pleasure to read. Complex theoretical frameworks are introduced in ways that
will make them accessible to the general reader, and the book's argument
opens up new implications and applications for the study of magic as
performance...’ (Roberta Mock, Department of Theatre and Performance,
University of Plymouth)
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http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/ppbooks.php?isbn=9781841501499
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