Performing the Law: A Study of Performance in the Court of Law

This thesis analyses what performance is and what it does in the court, drawing from theatrical performance. In it, I argue that performance plays a constitutive role in the court, that law and performance are intimately entwined and that law is reliant on performance for its production. In so doing, I consider whether theatre and performance studies research and practice can provide new insights into court proceedings. Central to my discussion of legal performance in court is the role of the audience, which becomes a guiding direction of the thesis and points to my interest in how the legal performance is perceived by the public gallery.