test ΣΚΕΨΕΙΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΥΙΣΜΟ ΤΗΣ PERFORMANCE [THOUGHTS ABOUT THE DUALISM OF THE PERFORMANCE ]|ΠΑΡΑΒΑΣΙΣ/PARABASIS

ΣΚΕΨΕΙΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΥΙΣΜΟ ΤΗΣ PERFORMANCE [THOUGHTS ABOUT THE DUALISM OF THE PERFORMANCE ]

Εξώφυλλο Παράβασις Τόμ. 20 / Cover Parabasis Vol. 20
PDF15 (ελληνικά)
Published: Nov 24, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681//.43297
Giorgos Pefanis
Abstract

The normative function of the performance, as Herbert Marcuse has already described in his «performance principle», always accompanies any radical function of performances, and its power today is evidently dominant. This does not mean, of course, that the transgressive and radical forces of performances have been eliminated. However, the fact remains that the dualism of normative and radical performance pertains to the relations of each performance with its respective historical, political, and economic contexts and therefore has a relative validity. This means that there may be performances without innovative or radical forces, without any transgressive function, or, equally common, performances with seemingly innovative or transgressive elements, which, however, function fundamentally in a normative manner and in complete alignment with the hegemonic discourse and cultural norms: a performative repetition that fundamentally performs the repetition of itself, a performance of the repetition of performance, a performance for the sake of performance and of the norm from which it originates.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Μελέτες / Studies
Author Biography
Giorgos Pefanis

Giorgos P. Pefanis is Professor of Theatre Theory and Philosophy in the Department of Theatre Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), where he has served as Head of the Department since 2022. From 2008 to 2025, he taught theatre and cinema history at the Hellenic Open University, where he has been a course coordinator since 2017, and he also taught in the Postgraduate Theatre Program at the Open University of Cyprus (2012–2013). He has been actively involved in academic publishing, serving as editor (2003–2013) and, since 2022, director of Paravasis, the peer-reviewed journal of the NKUA Department of Theatre Studies. He is also Director, Supervisor, and Editor of three major academic book series: «Theatrical Places» (Papazisis Editions, over 65 volumes), «Drama and Dromena» (Polytropon Editions), and «Theatrical Library» (Diavlos Editions). He has published 28 books on theatre, philosophy, literature, and cinema, more than two hundred scholarly studies, and over 300 theatre reviews. He contributes articles to To Vima and theatre reviews to CNN Greece, and has published extensively in international journals such as Annuaire Théâtral (Canada), New Theatre Quarterly (UK), Cahiers balkaniques (France), Italohellenica (Italy), and the Journal of Modern Greek Studies (USA). His research and professional collaborations include work with the Greek Folklore Research Center of the Academy of Athens (1999–2002), the National Theatre of Greece (1998–2000), and the Art Theatre of Moscow. In 2006, he received the Award for Best Theatrical Research from the Union of Music and Theatre Critics for his monograph The Kingdom of Eugena (Alexandria Editions, 2005). He is a member of the Société des Études Néohelléniques and the Greek Society of Aesthetics.