‘A Real State of Exception’: Walter Benjamin and the Paradox of Theatrical Representation

This chapter focuses on the eighth thesis of Walter Benjamin’s ‘On the Concept of History,’ which relates directly to Benjamin’s experience as a refugee during the last years of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of the Second World War, prior to his suicide in September 1940. In this thesis Benjamin claims that ‘the state of exception’ (a term coined by Carl Schmitt, who formulated the principles of authoritarian rule) in which ‘we live’ has become the rule and is no longer an exception. This, Benjamin adds, is ‘unphilosophical’ and concludes that in order to ‘improve our position in the struggle against fascism’ it is necessary to create what he terms ‘a real state of exception.’ My contribution to this collection suggests that this struggle has a performative dimension and that Benjamin’s ideas and formulations are both informed by and have in turn informed dramatic writing and the practices of theatre and performance.