Consciousness, Literature and the Arts
Archive
Volume 14 Number 1, April 2013
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Williams, Simon and Maik Hamburger, A History of the German Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 445pp. ISBN 978-0521-83369-1
Reviewed by
Middle East Technical University
A History of German Theatre is an edited book of 15 articles by internationally known scholars of German-language Theatre, covering periods dating back to the Middle Ages and coming to the present times. The 445 page book with illustrations has a comprehensive introduction and an illuminating explanation of the content of the book. There is a Notes section for the Introduction and the respective Chapters followed by a select bibliography. With the exception of Chapter 15, each chapter has its sub-divisions as well allowing the reader to have a quick overview of the raised issues in each chapter. After the examination of specific periods with their characteristics in the first 9 Chapters, more general theatre issues are discussed starting with Chapter 10.
In Chapter 1, Eckehard Simon begins ponting out the use of German language in the Liturgical Plays which were supposed to be in Latin. Hence the start of the German religious theatre. He also points out the various dialects of German outside present-day Germany and how between 1450 and 1550 theatre was very common in numerous towns as performance centres. Simon states that, with the Lutheran reformation the Medieval religious performances had to abandon their Christian profile. Yet, in later centuries these plays were re-discovered and revived or re-invented. In Chapter 2, George Brandt focuses on the German baroque theatre and the strolling players between 1550 and 1750.He states that this was a counter-reformation age which brought back the supremacy of monarchs but in Germany the Thirty Years War did not allow a centralized theatre system to be established. This period is famous for its spectacular celebrations and festivities. Brandt also mentions the importance of Jesuit theatres the number of which reached 50 by 1650. He observes the foreign influences as well but this period is the time when “German acting profession” emerged despite these influences.
In Chapter 3, Anthony Meech while evaluating the classical theatre and the formation of a civil society between 1720 and 1832, observes the aristocratic and bourgeois theatre. He points out the significant fact that Germany at that time did not have a single capital city. He gives detailed information about important theatre people such as Gottsched, Schlegel, Lessing and mentions the significance of Goethe and Schiller, the sturm und drang movement and the Weimar Classicism. In Chapter 4, Marvin Carlson focuses on the realistic theatre and bourgeois values while observing the fact that Weimar Classicism highlighted the nobility of human beings. Yet, realism was concerned with “the actual conduct” of human beings. He also elaborates on the four theatres of Vienna, the Young Germany, the significance of the Saxe-Meiningen approach, the Wagner’s Bayreuth Festival and the influence of Ibsen. He also points out that this period is the beginning of “free theatre” in Germany.
In Chapter 5, Simon Williams takes up the Romantic Spirit in the German theatre, the arrival of opera, and later the “singspiel”. He also draws the reader’s attention to the spoken theatre and how naturalism is “the dominant mode” but “the romantic modes of acting” were kept alive too. In Chapter 6, Hilda Brown observes the sensitivity of “creative artists” towards “authoritarian forces”. She also focuses on the “sturm und drang” movement giving in detail its characteristics. Furthermore she mentions “theatre of dissent” clearly summarizing what it means. In Chapter 7, Christopher Innes elaborates on the importance of the director in German theatre and how the director is different from the actor-manager in other countries especially in England. Innes also draws attention to the title “intendant” stating that the Duke Saxe-Meiningen was the most influential Intendant who was interested in “ensemble acting” and “pictorial illusionism”. Innes also focuses on the expressionistic movement and how Strindberg influenced the German theatre and finally he gives a perceptive presentation of the Epic Theatre.
In Chapter 8, David Barnett presents his observations also on naturalism, expressionism, and Brecht. He elaborates on the developments in scientific thinking and technological progress and their impact on theatre. When he presents Brecht, it is clear how Brecht reacted to “naturalism” and how he wanted an active audience. While Innes in the previous chapter elaborated on the “intendant”, Barnett writes about “thingspiele” promoted by the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Goebbels. In Chapter 9, Stephen Wilmer focuses on the different effects of nationalism on the German Theatre. He clearly presents what he wants to discuss concerning nationalism which in the 18th and 19th Centuries helped to form a sense of national identity but later “over-nationalism” created a vagueness. In his illuminating conclusion, he wraps up the effects of nationalism on the German Theatre. Starting with Chapter 10 independent topics are presented the first one being “Experiments with architectural space in the German Theatre” by Wiiliam F. Condee and Thomas Irmer. It is understood that although the proscenium arch theatres continued to be built, German theatres allowed experimentation with the use of space. Also open-space theatre amd its exploitation is presented. In Chapter 11, Wilhelm Hortmann elaborates on “revolution in scenography on the German stage in the twentieth century “ and he focuses on Appia, Craig, Max Reinhardt and also the effects of the different movements such as expressionism, constructivism, abstraction, Bauhaus, postmodern aestheticism on scenography. In Chapter 12, David Barnett takes up playwriting in contemporary German Theatre. In Chapter 13, Michael Raab focuses on the directors and actors in modern and contemporary German Theatre and states the fact that the director dominates the German Theatre. He also mentions the divided Berlin City between 1961 and 1989 which created two different approaches to theatre.
In Chapter 14, while Erika Fischer-Lichte focuses on the patterns of continuity in German theatre, she gives a clear overview of the three significant “tendencies” that can be observed in German theatre being “interculturalism”, “performance as an autonomous work of art”, and “theatre having a cultural mission”. She admits the fact that Goethe had observed these tendencies as well, back in the 19th Century. Erika Fischer-Lichte’s contribution to the book forms the main reference source to get an overall portrayal of the German theatre. In the Final Chapter, Theatertreffen 2007, the editors, Maik Hamburger and Simon Williams elaborate on the Theatertreffen festival in Berlin and draw the attentions onto the divide between” the dramatic theatre” supporters and “the post-dramatic theatre” supporters. The book with its Chapters giving a historical background to the German theatre and the Chapters informing the reader about diverse developments in German theatre, is an invaluable reference book on past and present German theatre. While focusing on German speaking countries and the theatrical developments, the book also allows the reader to have an overview about the other European countries as well, since the theatre traffic among these countries influenced the general theatrical developments in Europe. The book provides a comprehensive evaluation of the theatrical developments in German speaking countries and thus it becomes indispensable for students and scholars alike.