Native American Drama: A Critical Perspective. By Christy Stanlake. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Pp. vii + 242. £55/$99 Hb. - Native American Performance and Representation. Edited by S. E. Wilmer. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2009. Pp. vii + 286. $49.95 Hb.

Abstract

valuable in discussing pertinent issues. At the same time, he challenges contemporary theatre and performance studies scholarship, be it in his reference, also in the book title, to Phelan and Lane's 1997 Ends of Performance (pp. 5-6) or in a critical reading of Schechner's braid of entertainment and efficacy (pp. 129-30). Thompson makes a consistent, sincere and timely argument. While the study has not in fact established a fully fledged vocabulary and set of tools for third parties to affectively and effectively understand and practise theatre in war-torn societies, it is an important first step in this direction.