When we think of performance in terms of ‘In Extremis’, we conjure up Dante’s Inferno, Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty, Beckett’s The Unnamable (L’Innommable), the works of Raffaello Sanzio and Romeo Castellucci, and great Greek tragedies. We imagine dismemberment, bodily fluids, torture, pain, loss and fiery excess. If, however, we read it as arriving at the point of ‘extreme hardship or suffering’ rather than at the point of ‘death’, what acts of performance, and art practice more broadly, assist us to understand these confronting scenarios as edges rather than endings? The contributions to this issue negotiate these different understandings of ‘In Extremis’ and in doing so engage us in important considerations of the necessity of art in the current fraught global context.

As we navigate the complexities of breathing in a world marked by social upheaval and environmental challenges, this issue seeks to illuminate the transformative power of breath in shaping our understanding of the performing arts. By bridging the gap between art, aesthetics and science, the issue promotes interdisciplinary scholarship and encourages new perspectives on the significance of respiration in artistic practices. International authors consider the cultural, historical and social implications of breath, highlighting its significance in different artistic traditions and contemporary movements. Through a diverse array of contributions, they examine the intersections of breath with themes of colonialism, racialization, politics of asphyxiation, necropolitics, resistance and artificial intelligence. The issue attempts to challenge conventional understandings of breath and respiration, fostering innovative dialogues around these concepts in the context of art and performance.