Playwright, born in London, UK. He studied history at the University of Sussex. His first play, Cheek, was produced at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1970. He has since written over 20 plays, including Stripwell (1975), Victory (1983), The Power of the Dog (1984), and The Possibilities (1988). Later works include The Europeans (1990) and A Hard Heart (1992).
The Theatre of Catastrophe
Barker has coined the term 'Theatre of Catastrophe' to describe his work.
Rejecting the widespread notion that an audience should share a single response to the events onstage, Barker works to fragment response, forcing each viewer to wrestle with the play alone. Where other playwrights might clarify a scene, Barker seeks to render it more complex, ambiguous, and unstable.
Opposing the predominance of comedy in the contemporary culture, which unifies us through the banality of a shared response, he argues for the rebirth of a tragic theatre, which will force us to recognize our differences. Only through a tragic renaissance, Barker argues, will beauty and poetry return to the stage.
Themes
Barker frequently turns to historical events for inspiration.
In other plays, Barker has fashioned responses to famous literary works. For Barker, Chekhov is a playwright of bad faith, a writer who encourages us to sentimentalize our own weaknesses and glamorize inertia. Beneath Chekhov's celebrated compassion, Barker argues, lies contempt. In his play, Barker has Chekhov walk into Vanya's world and express his disdain for him.
Barker's protagonists are conflicted, often perverse, and their motivations appear enigmatic.
Productions
Though he is relatively unknown in his own country, Barker's works have earned him a sizable following on the European mainland, and many of his plays have been translated into various languages. In Britain, a theatre company called the Wrestling School was formed in 1988 by admirers of Barker's works to produce the author's seldom-performed plays in his native country.
Selected Plays
Claw,Stripwell, and Fair Slaughter (1977) The Love of a Good Man (1981) Crimes in Hot Countries (1982) A Passion in Six Days and Victory (1983) The Power of the Dog, Scenes from an Execution and The Castle (1985) The Possibilities (1987) The Bite of the Night and The Last Supper (1988) Brutopia and Seven Lears(1989) The Europeans, Golgo and Judith (1990) Uncle Vanya (1991) A Hard Heart, Ten Dilemmas and Ego in Arcadia (1992) Rome and Minna(1993) Hated Nightfall and Wounds to the Face (1995) The Gaoler's Ache for the Nearly Dead (1997) Ursula; Fear of the Estuary (1998) Und (1999) "The Ecstatic Bible" (2000) He Stumbled (2000) A House of Correction (2001) Gertrude - The Cry (2002) 13 Objects and Summer School (2003) The Road, The House, The Road (2006) broadcast on Radio 4 to commemorate his sixtieth birthday. Let Me (2006) broadcast on Radio 3 to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Third Programme (Radio 3) The Seduction of Almighty God by the Boy Priest Loftus in the Abbey of Calcetto, 1539 (2006)Other Writings
Barker has also authored several volumes of poetry (Don't Exaggerate, The Breath of the Crowd, Gary the Thief, Lullabies for the Impatient, The Ascent of Monte Grappa, and The Tortman Diaries), an opera (Terrible Mouth with music by Nigel Osborne), and two collections of writings on the theatre (Arguments for a Theatre and Death, The One and The Art of Theatre).
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