How and why? The post/decolonial as method in contemporary European theatre

How can contemporary European theatre move beyond what postcolonial theorist Homi Bhaba calls colonial mimicry? To analyze contemporary European theatre, this chapter considers post/decolonial theatre praxis as a method and performative act and entangles post/decolonial theory with the postmigrant theatre discourse.Going beyond the what and who of theatre canon-making that frames the postcolonial as an identity politics, I examine the how and the why in the decolonial performativities. This chapter looks into the artistic practices of Asli Kişlal and daskunst in Vienna, the Dutch organization The Need for Legacy, and the ‘Postcolonial Poly Perspective’ festival at Theater Ballhaus Naunynstrasse in Berlin.