Making Whiteness Visible and Felt in <i>Fairview</i>
In this article I analyse how Jackie Sibblies Drury’s play <i>Fairview</i> makes white audience members feel white. As a play that exposes whiteness and calls white people to account for their racism, <i>Fairview</i> speaks to contemporary global antiracist activism efforts....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/2/81 |
| Summary: | In this article I analyse how Jackie Sibblies Drury’s play <i>Fairview</i> makes white audience members feel white. As a play that exposes whiteness and calls white people to account for their racism, <i>Fairview</i> speaks to contemporary global antiracist activism efforts. Therefore, I begin by situating <i>Fairview</i> in the transatlantic cultural and political context of Black Lives Matter. I then discuss the theatrical devices Drury employs in <i>Fairview</i> in order to make whiteness felt before going on to analyse a range of white audience responses to the production at London’s Young Vic Theatre in 2019/2020. I reflect on these responses in relation to how white people react to accusations of white privilege and power in the public sphere and identify shared strategies for sustaining whiteness. In conclusion, I consider <i>Fairview</i> as a model of affective antiracist activism. |
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| ISSN: | 2076-0787 |