A balanced, clear introduction, with semiotic, linguistic, sociology and communication perspectives, and close practical analysis of performances and performer comments, in a wide range of types (drama, dance, circus, music). This is an invaluable education text, and wide ranging tool for performers, theatre students and scholars, and general arts readers. * Geoffrey Sykes, Editor Southern Semiotic Review, Australia * Paul Bouissac uses semiotics to explore a wide range of performances -- the circus, the arts, everyday life -- in Western and non-Western cultures. He integrates key theories with his own experiences in a scholarly yet happily readable book. * Richard Schechner, Professor and Editor of The Drama Review, NYU, USA * A remarkable textbook. It provides a rigorous introduction to performance analysis in a discursive and unassuming style, covering a wide range of issues and genres, with an exceptional sense of the pedagogical reach of the idea of performance as a communication process and as a social experience. * Domenico Pietropaolo, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada * The book offers a broadly accessible outlook to the scrutinized topics ... The Semiotics of Performance bridges theory and practice, celebrates cultural diversity, and equips readers with analytical tools to decode the magic of live performances. * International Journal of Marketing Semiotics & Discourse Studies *
