Waste: Capitalism and the Dissolution of the Human in Twentieth-Century Theater

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Theater, at its core, involves human bodies in space, but what happens as suicide capitalism leads us into a posthuman era? This exploration examines the shift in twentieth-century theater from efficiency to waste, highlighting the human tendency to feel shame and perceive oneself as excess. By analyzing theatrical portrayals of capitalism, war, climate change, and the ongoing refugee crisis, it reveals how these themes reflect a self-destructive prodigality. Capitalism, rather than fostering abundance, fosters competition and fear, with the desire for dominance in war reflecting a wish to erase the self in collective destruction. The refugee crisis prompts urgent questions about our responsibilities to others, while the climate crisis challenges anthropocentric viewpoints. The theater emerges as the ideal medium to confront humanity's troubled relationship with finitude, steeped in existential shame and awareness of its impermanence. Unlike the prevailing narrative of infinite growth, theater recognizes its nature and fate. Ultimately, it creates a shared space for artists and audiences to confront mortality together, consciously choosing to waste time rather than merely spend it.