\u201cAllegorising and Minoritising Richard III\u201d

Against the backdrop of widespread topical readings of Richard III as postwar allegories of totalitarianisms \u2018reconciling\u2019 us with painful memories of trauma and monstrosity, this chapter discusses Carmelo Bene\u2019s experiment in minoritisation as a form of political disengagement but also political challenge. It reappraises Bene\u2019s dialogue with Deleuze by situating his 1977 anti-theatrical experiment with Shakespeare\u2019s play within the context of contemporary forms of theatrical contestation and, contrariwise, connivance with political power in the 1970s. Finally, it investigates Bene\u2019s experimental minoritisation of Shakespeare\u2019s history play by contrasting a subversive conception of history with official history, and to this end exploiting the dynamic resources of the eventfulness of the performance. It also assesses Bene\u2019s own claimed anarchic way of transcending power games by examining his interpretation of \u2018essential minority\u2019 as opposed to \u2018actual minority\u2019 in relation to a notion of immanent politics that refuses transcendental justifications