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The Drama of the Rite
Worship, Liturgy & Theatre Performance
| Roger Grainger |
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| Roger Grainger is
the author of a number of books, including The Language
of the Rite (Darton, Longman and Todd) and The Message
of the Rite (Lutterworth); The Drama of the Rite
(published by SAP in 2008) is the final book in this trilogy.
Other publications include: Imagination, Identification
and Catharsis in Theatre and Therapy (with Mary Duggan);
The Social Symbolism of Grief and Mourning; and Theatre
and Relationship in Shakespeare’s Late Plays.
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With a Foreword by David Hope
The Drama of the Rite brings home the dramatic identity of
ritual and the religious significance of all kinds of theatre. Historically
speaking, religious ritual and theatre appear to have evolved together.
But what is the relationship between catharsis and liturgy? How
liturgical is theatre, and how theatrical is liturgy? Liturgy’s
purpose is dramatic; like theatre it is a kinetic medium focusing
upon the presence of the other person, whether divine or human.
… This book explores the characteristics of liturgical experience
– concentration, single mindedness, intentionality, emotional
catharsis and above all, the quality of encounter on which personal
environment depends – an exploration which leads into the
dramatic shape underlying both liturgy and theatre, that of the
rite of passage itself. Examples are given of such rites, understood
from the point of view of their theatrical nature and purpose. This
involves looking at liturgical structure from a point of view which
up to now has largely been neglected by scholars, although its relevance
emerges with striking force, as the drama of the incursion of the
divine into human lives. Many have spoken and written of the ‘drama
of religious ritual’ and been content to leave it at that.
Roger Grainger takes a cliché and examines the often misunderstood
truth it expresses.
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Preface
Introduction
Chapter I: Getting to the Heart of Things
Chapter II: Rite and Drama
Chapter III: Ritual and Symbol
Chapter IV: Liturgy and the Shape of Story
Chapter V: Celebrating Life
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
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“This
is a book of carefully distilled wisdom, valuable both for the student
of liturgy and for the Christian, lay or ordained, seeking to understand
the central role and enormous resourcefulness of liturgy for that
constant conversion which is the life of faith.” Rowan
Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
“Having written about the language of the rite and its message,
Grainger here completes his trilogy about Christian liturgy. He
characterizes liturgy as an attempt by worshippers to suspend their
philosophical and secular disbelief and encounter god. This attempt
and this encounter are not individual however but communal, and
the ritual must be shared to be effective. He discusses getting
to the heart of things, rite and drama, ritual and symbol, liturgy
and the shape of story, celebrating life, and liturgy and transformation.”
Reference & Research Book News
“I imagine there are very few books which combine perspectives
on liturgy from structural anthropology, narrative theory and continental
philosophy and end up offering a memorial service for a dead cat.
This, subtitled ‘worship, liturgy and theatre performance’,
is one such book. Roger Grainger is convinced that good liturgy
should be at the heart of the Church’s life, and a primary
means by which the Church is caught up in God’s work of transformation.
This insistence on transformation means that he approaches all liturgy
as a rite of passage with an underlying deep narrative structure.”
Praxis News of Worship |
Publication Details
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Paperback ISBN: |
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978-1-84519-306-5 |
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Page Extent / Format: |
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144 pp. / 229 x 152 mm |
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Release Date: |
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October 2008 |
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Illustrated: |
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No |
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Paperback Price: |
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£12.99 / $24.99 |
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| This book can be ordered online or by telephone. |
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For the UK and Rest of the World:
Gazelle Book Services
tel. 44 (0)1524-68765 |
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For the United States:
International Specialized Book Services
tel. (1) 503 287-3093 or (800) 944-6190 |
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For Canada:
University of Toronto Distribution
tel. (1) 800-565-9523 |
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