Performance in a Pandemic - Creative-Critical Responses to Live Work

In this review of Performance in a Pandemic, the editors assemble a timely collection for readers tracking how live art adapted during COVID-19. The book is best for practitioners, scholars, and programmers who need concrete case studies and reflective analysis about moving performance into digital and hybrid spaces. Its single biggest strength is the breadth of creative-critical perspectives that document both practice and theory, offering practical insight into how liveness, audience expectations, and international festivals were reshaped by restrictions and new distribution models.

Key Features

• Edited collection: Brings together UK and international artists, academics and practitioners to offer multiple viewpoints on pandemic-era practice, making it a useful cross-disciplinary resource.
• Focus on liveness: Examines how liveness functions across digital platforms, helping readers understand the aesthetic and technical implications of online performance.
• Case studies: Presents concrete examples of creative responses and outputs produced during lockdown, which act as practical templates for future work.
• Festival impact analysis: Explores how international festivals changed when geography and location were removed, useful for programmers and producers planning hybrid events.
• Theoretical and practical balance: Combines academic research with practitioner reflection so readers gain both critical context and actionable insight.

Who It's For

Performance in a Pandemic is aimed primarily at theatre and live art professionals, academic researchers in performance studies, and festival directors who want documented examples of how peers navigated lockdowns and digital shifts. The collection is particularly valuable for those looking to translate practice into scholarship or to design resilient programming that can operate across physical and virtual spaces.

Readers seeking a beginner's how-to manual on streaming technology or a step-by-step technical guide should look elsewhere; this volume is strongest as a creative-critical resource rather than a hands-on technical handbook. Those after a single-author narrative or a compact handbook might find the edited, multi-voice format less linear.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Wide range of contributors provides a plurality of voices and contexts, which enriches comparative understanding.
• Focused essays on liveness and digital translation clarify complex artistic choices made under constraint.
• Case studies offer concrete examples that can inform future practice and programming decisions.

Cons

• The edited collection format means some chapters vary in depth and style, which may feel uneven to readers seeking a single narrative.

Specifications

Title	Performance in a Pandemic
Editors	Laura Bissell, Lucy Weir
Scope	UK and international artists, academics, practitioners
Subjects covered	Contemporary performance, dance, live art, liveness on digital platforms
Formats included	Creative-critical case studies and essays
Primary themes	Audience demands, international festival impact, digital removal of geography

Our Verdict

Performance in a Pandemic is a well-timed, thoughtful edited collection that documents how the performing arts responded to a global crisis. It is recommended for scholars, artists and programmers who need critical context and real-world examples of practice during lockdown, offering good value as a cross-disciplinary reference rather than a technical manual.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book include practical case studies?
Yes, it contains creative-critical case studies documenting work produced during lockdown that illustrate practical responses and strategies.

Who edited the collection?
The volume is edited by Laura Bissell and Lucy Weir, who bring together contributors from the UK and beyond.

Is this a technical guide to digital performance?
No, it is primarily a creative-critical and scholarly collection rather than a step-by-step technical manual.