The Art of Experience: The Theatre of Marina Carr and Contemporary Psychology

The Art of Experience provides an interdisciplinary analysis of selected plays from Ireland’s premier female playwright, Marina Carr.

Dagmara Gizlo explores the transformative impact of a theatrical experience in which interdisciplinary boundaries must be crossed. This book demonstrates that theatre is therapeutic and therapy is theatrical. The role of emotions, cognitions, and empathy in the theatrical experience is investigated throughout. Dagmara Gizlo utilises the methodological tools stemming from modern empirically grounded psychology (such as cognitive-behavioural therapy or CBT) to the study of theatre’s transformative potential.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of theatre, performance, and literature, and will be a fascinating read for those at the intersection of cognitive studies and the humanities.

Dagmara Gizlo is Assistant Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. She completed her PhD in English literature in 2002. In her research, she applies modern psychology and psychotherapy studies to the analysis of theatre and drama.