The Drama of the World, the Drama of Theology

Abstract

Hans Urs von Balthasar speaks of a diversity of contemporary philosophies moving ‘concentrically’ toward a ‘dramatic theology’. This article affirms the coherence of this claim, by establishing some of these convergences, beginning with Gaudium et Spes, and a number of theologians, pre-eminently Balthasar. Attention is then turned to the ‘Dramatic Theology’ project of the Innsbruck School, inspired by Raymund Schwager; a conception of theodrama which builds on Balthasar’s insight, while also utilising the mimetic theory of René Girard. The third section considers ways in which the insights of the Dramatic Theology project can be enhanced, by attention to three specific insights from within dramatic theory: the possibility of expanding the Aristotelian notion of ‘tragedy’; the borrowing of ‘overacceptance’ from theatrical improvision (Wells); a wider deployment of the unsettling category of ‘tragicomedy’, as applied to Shakespeare. The convergence of these insights on ‘theodrama’ is demonstrated by a comment on the Girardian/mimetic significance of each. A distinction between Balthasar and Girard is suggested, with reference to Walter Brüggemann’s dual perspectives of ‘above the fray’ and within the fray’.