suggested, might represent a view of this kind. Alternatively, one might
form a view that government policy should not have any impact upon
labour contracts or religious organisations, in which case one’s political
philosophies in the broad and narrow sense would be forced into some
kind of alignment.
Although it is helpful to keep‘politics’and‘political philosophy’apart
from one another, the distinction shouldn’t be overemphasised. Evidently,
one’s political philosophy can and should be influenced by politics, and
vice versa. What’s more, a claim about what ought to be done in the
narrow sphere of politics may well appeal to or imply a broader philoso-
phical or theoretical outlook. A politician may claim to have no particular
guiding philosophy, but such a philosophy may be implied by her
actions, or derived retrospectively by looking at the way in which she has
voted. One does not need, in other words, an explicitly articulated‘poli-
tical philosophy’ in order to display, in one’s actions, theoretical views
about politics that can be reconstructed externally.
These brief distinctions and discussions may enable us to look more
clearly at what might be implied in a discussion of theatre and politics. If
an act (including a theatrical act) is‘political’it may be affecting politics
in its narrow or broad sense and it may be an attempt at discursive or
reason-based activity which takes politics as its subject. So strikes and sit-
ins are not obviously contributions to politicaltheory; but,first of all, they
are obviously political acts in the narrow sense; and, second, if they are
sufficiently widespread and powerful, it may be that political theories
should adapt in response to them. Conversely, a highly theoretical tract
on the foundations of government may be an esteemed contribution to
political philosophy, yet have little or no political impact in the narrow
sense. If we speak of‘political’ theatre, or of the relationship between
theatre and politics, then keeping these distinctions in mind may be
useful. A play that has an impact on politics in the narrow sense is not
the same as a play that offers spectators new conceptual tools with which
to theorise about politics (in the narrow or the broad sense).
Politics in text and performance
So far we have discussed politics in the narrow and broad sense, together
with the distinction between politics and political philosophy. However,
the distinction we shall use to structure the remainder of our discussion is
that between politics in the play text and politics in performance. As
frequently in discussions of theatre, it is useful to keep these apart when
thinking about theatre and politics, even if a crystal-clear distinction isn’t
always possible. Theatrical performances, as we have said, are inherently
political in the broad sense, because they bring together groups of people,
164 From the Stage to the World