Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Theatre ReDefined (Redefining the Agency: Post-1989 Crises of Czech and Former East German Theatre)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2019-09-01 al 2021-08-31
Theatre has been a steady component and often a powerful agent of societal developments for more than two thousand years. Therefore, the project was interested in how the mutual relationship between theatre and the society functions: to what extent theatre can influence social developments and how theatre itself is determined by the society. In particular, the project examined situation in theatre of the post-Communist European countries after 1989, using the former East German and Czech theatre landscapes as examples. While prior to the year 1989, theatres in both countries played an important social role, since they co-initiated the end of Communist regimes, historians claim that the year 1989 represented a turning point when theatre lost its social relevance and faced a “theatre crisis”.
The project, however, revealed that the years 1989 and 1990 represented neither an institutional, nor aesthetic watershed in theatre histories of the two countries, the multilayered transformative processes taking place in the early 1990s notwithstanding. The project even hypothesized this state of affairs was not reserved to Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic and Germany, but concerned all Sovietized European countries and suggested an outline of future comparative research to be conducted throughout post-Communist Europe.
Multiple symptoms of continuity were identified: barring a few exceptions, the Czech theatre system was preserved and even expanded after 1989 to include emerging commercial and experimental ensembles. In the former GDR, theatre system was forced to adapt to the west German theatre model, however, its majority was also kept. In terms of aesthetic developments, the year 1989 accelerated trends such as “postmodernism” and “postdramatic theatre” present in the countries already in the 1980s. Another aspect of continuity was demonstrated by tracing philosophical and aesthetic sources of various notions of theatre’s social role that were brought up at the time. In the Czech theatre, continuity with the pre-Communist era was discerned, going back to the Prague Linguistic Circle’s structuralist theory. In German case, Bertolt Brecht’s concept of theatre’s social role was influential, and new conceptualisations emerged after 1989 – e. g. Erika Fischer-Lichte’s “transformation narrative” of the 1990’s theatre, inspired by Victor Turner’s theory.
The in-depth survey proceeded along the intersection of theatre studies, media studies and political history and a new methodology was applied: a combination of performance analysis and discourse analysis, which produced an exceptionally complex and multidimensional perspective on the examined developments. A parallel goal of the project was to foster the professional development of the Principal Investigator. Since she gained a new expertise in German and comparative theatre history and her second monograph will be published soon, her future working prospects multiplied.
The project, however, revealed that the years 1989 and 1990 represented neither an institutional, nor aesthetic watershed in theatre histories of the two countries, the multilayered transformative processes taking place in the early 1990s notwithstanding. The project even hypothesized this state of affairs was not reserved to Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic and Germany, but concerned all Sovietized European countries and suggested an outline of future comparative research to be conducted throughout post-Communist Europe.
Multiple symptoms of continuity were identified: barring a few exceptions, the Czech theatre system was preserved and even expanded after 1989 to include emerging commercial and experimental ensembles. In the former GDR, theatre system was forced to adapt to the west German theatre model, however, its majority was also kept. In terms of aesthetic developments, the year 1989 accelerated trends such as “postmodernism” and “postdramatic theatre” present in the countries already in the 1980s. Another aspect of continuity was demonstrated by tracing philosophical and aesthetic sources of various notions of theatre’s social role that were brought up at the time. In the Czech theatre, continuity with the pre-Communist era was discerned, going back to the Prague Linguistic Circle’s structuralist theory. In German case, Bertolt Brecht’s concept of theatre’s social role was influential, and new conceptualisations emerged after 1989 – e. g. Erika Fischer-Lichte’s “transformation narrative” of the 1990’s theatre, inspired by Victor Turner’s theory.
The in-depth survey proceeded along the intersection of theatre studies, media studies and political history and a new methodology was applied: a combination of performance analysis and discourse analysis, which produced an exceptionally complex and multidimensional perspective on the examined developments. A parallel goal of the project was to foster the professional development of the Principal Investigator. Since she gained a new expertise in German and comparative theatre history and her second monograph will be published soon, her future working prospects multiplied.
The necessary data were collected via gathering and studying interdisciplinary literature on the pre- and post-1989 developments in (former East) Germany and Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic. The “postmodernist” Czech production “Naši naši furianti”, based on a late nineteenth-century canonical Czech play and directed by Petr Lébl at the Theatre on a Balustrade in Prague in 1994 and Frank Castorf’s production of “Räuber von Schiller” performed at the Volksbühne Berlin in 1990 were selected as case studies. Archival materials concerning the productions and theatre situation in the early 1990s were identified and analysed. In doing so, two short stays in the Czech Republic were realised and six interviews with German and Czech theatre makers and scholars were conducted, their audio-recordings are freely available at the digital repository of the FUB. Gathered data were processed and analysed, using the innovative methodology. The selected productions were reconstructed and analysed drawing on a detailed analysis of archival documents, video recordings, press reviews, interviews with the contemporaries, and interdisciplinary secondary literature. Consequently, they were positioned within their respective social and political contexts, to allow for an appraisal of their social impact.
An in-depth analysis of “Naši naši furianti” reconsidered existing scholarship on the production which largely focused on its aesthetic analysis and argued that Lébl’s production reflected upon contentious issues of the day such as xenophobia and the position of women in the Czech Republic. In doing so, the project challenged the prevailing historical narrative that post-1989 Czech theatre, the “postmodernist” theatre in particular, lost its interest in performing social and political issues and alienated itself from public affairs. The specific transformation of performing the social on stage in the former East German theatre, within the “postdramatic” aesthetic mode, was thoroughly investigated in a case study on the production of “Räuber von Schiller”. It reflected upon the end of the GDR and the reunification and has been considered one of the iconic German productions of the 1990s. The research scrutinized the interrelation between the aesthetic and political dimensions and situated the Volksbühne and Castorf’s team within the broader political and social contexts of 1990 Berlin, giving the political dimension of the production a sharper outline.
The main outputs of the project:
- the monograph “Czech and Former East German Theatre after 1989: Between Redefinition and Continuity” - the manuscript is in an advanced stage and the book is under contract with an international publishing house
- the book chapter “Crisis?: Czech Theatre after 1989” in the high-profile edited collection BALME, Christopher – FISHER, Tony. Theatre Institutions in Crisis: European Perspectives. Routledge, 2021 p. 133–142. http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-30973(si apre in una nuova finestra)
- organisation of the international conference Redefining Theatre: Theatre and Society in Transition, Institute for Theatre Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, 28–29 May 2021.
An in-depth analysis of “Naši naši furianti” reconsidered existing scholarship on the production which largely focused on its aesthetic analysis and argued that Lébl’s production reflected upon contentious issues of the day such as xenophobia and the position of women in the Czech Republic. In doing so, the project challenged the prevailing historical narrative that post-1989 Czech theatre, the “postmodernist” theatre in particular, lost its interest in performing social and political issues and alienated itself from public affairs. The specific transformation of performing the social on stage in the former East German theatre, within the “postdramatic” aesthetic mode, was thoroughly investigated in a case study on the production of “Räuber von Schiller”. It reflected upon the end of the GDR and the reunification and has been considered one of the iconic German productions of the 1990s. The research scrutinized the interrelation between the aesthetic and political dimensions and situated the Volksbühne and Castorf’s team within the broader political and social contexts of 1990 Berlin, giving the political dimension of the production a sharper outline.
The main outputs of the project:
- the monograph “Czech and Former East German Theatre after 1989: Between Redefinition and Continuity” - the manuscript is in an advanced stage and the book is under contract with an international publishing house
- the book chapter “Crisis?: Czech Theatre after 1989” in the high-profile edited collection BALME, Christopher – FISHER, Tony. Theatre Institutions in Crisis: European Perspectives. Routledge, 2021 p. 133–142. http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-30973(si apre in una nuova finestra)
- organisation of the international conference Redefining Theatre: Theatre and Society in Transition, Institute for Theatre Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, 28–29 May 2021.
The research represented the first systematic comparison of the 1990s developments in theatre in two post-communist European countries and proposed both a new methodology and a new perspective, which emphasised symptoms of continuity between the pre- and post-1989 eras. Moreover, while the existing works on Czech and German 1990s theatre have focused predominantly on textual analysis of the plays, and the institutional level of theatre’s transformation, the research included the institutional, aesthetic and discursive dimensions and emphasised the performative aspect, as the analysis included both discourse and performance analysis. In doing so, the project constitutes a distinct innovation in the field of theatre studies and has a potential to influence future methodologies.
The project promoted the potential of theatre and the arts for innovating and cultivating public debate, especially in the times of growing populism and xenophobia. It also fostered Czech-German relations by stimulating mutual familiarity with the neighboring theatre landscape. By spreading information on the achievements of high-profile socially engaged theatre in the early 1990s, the project encouraged theatre practice which reflects current social and political developments and may thus influence current social and political debates.
The project promoted the potential of theatre and the arts for innovating and cultivating public debate, especially in the times of growing populism and xenophobia. It also fostered Czech-German relations by stimulating mutual familiarity with the neighboring theatre landscape. By spreading information on the achievements of high-profile socially engaged theatre in the early 1990s, the project encouraged theatre practice which reflects current social and political developments and may thus influence current social and political debates.