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Many political theorists, from Hannah Arendt and Theodor Adorno to Sheldon Wolin and Jurgen Habermas, have noted that the twentieth century was a time of an "eclipse of the public sphere" and a "sublimation of politics." Partly due to the traumas of world war, totalitarianism, and genocide, and partly due to the absorptive capacities of instrumental reason and mass consumerism, mid-twentieth century Europe experienced an exhaustion of radical energy and a hollowing out of political discourse. This dissertation contributes to the narration of these developments by offering an account of the decline of political theater in twentieth century Europe. While since the ancient Greeks theater had been an important medium of political reflection and communication--and thus an important genre of political theorizing--by the middle of the 20th century theater became, especially in Western Europe and the United States, a medium of mass entertainment deprived of political aspiration and bite. This dissertation tells the story of this decline of political theater through profiles of four of the most important, brilliant, and influential playwrights of the century--George Bernard Shaw, Bertolt Brecht, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Eugene Ionesco. The first three playwrights sought to dramatize the challenges of their times in ways that could promote radical political change. Each, in his own way, failed in this effort. The fourth, Ionesco, also experienced the traumas of the century, but responded by developing a new, "absurdist" theater that was deeply anti-political. By profiling these important writers, and by linking them in a narrative of political theater's decline in the 20th century, this dissertation has two primary goals: to contribute to the remembrance of a "world we have lost, " and through such remembrance to incite contemporary political theorists to revisit and rethink the political potential of the theater.
This book explores the connection between politics and theatre by looking at the works and lives of Shaw, Brecht, Sartre, and Ionesco, providing a cultural history detailing the changing role of political theatre in twentieth-century Europe.
This volume provides a theoretical framework for some of the most important play-writing in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century. Examining representative plays by Arnold Wesker, John Arden, Trevor Griffith, Howard Barker, Howard Brenton, Edward Bond, David Hare, John McGrath and Caryl Churchill, the author analyses their respective strategies for persuading audiences of the need for a radical restructuring of society. The book begins with a discussion of the way that theatre has been used to convey a political message. Each chapter is then devoted to an exploration of the engagement of individual playwrights with left-wing political theatre, including a detailed analysis of one of their major plays. Despite political change since the 1980s, political play-writing continues to be a significant element in contemporary play-writing, but in a very changed form.
This book examines the institutional contexts of dramaturgical practices in the changing political landscape of 20th century Germany. Through wide-ranging case studies, it discusses the way in which operationalised modes of action, legal frameworks and an established profession have shaped dramaturgical practice and thus links to current debates around the “institutional turn” in theatre and performance studies. German theatre represents a rich and well-chosen field as it is here where the role of the dramaturg was first created and where dramaturgy played a significantly politicised role in the changing political systems of the 20th century. The volume represents an important addition to a growing field of work on dramaturgy by contributing to a historical contextualisation of current practice. In doing so, it understands dramaturgy not only as a process which occurs in rehearsal rooms and writers’ studies, but one that has far wider institutional and political implications.
1. Historical Background, 2. Plato : The Republic (Book-VII) (Prose), 3. Homer : The Iliad (Book-I) (Poetry), 4. Sophocles : Oedipus the King (Drama), 5. English Literature From Chaucer to Renaissance (Drama), 6. Seventeenth Century and Eighteenth Century, 7. The Romantic Age of Nineteenth Century, 8. The Twentieth Century.
This study is based upon a cross-section of secondary-school history textbooks from fourteen european countries, with differing traditions of educational literature: the Czech Republic, England and Wales, Finland, France, Lithuania, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation and Spain. Examples from other countries are also discussed, in particular some of the Balkan countries, where the parallel process of building a national identity while also establishing a European one is taking place. (CoE website.)
From before history was recorded to the present day, theatre has been a major artistic form around the world. From puppetry to mimes and street theatre, this complex art has utilized all other art forms such as dance, literature, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture. Every aspect of human activity and human culture can be, and has been, incorporated into the creation of theatre. In this Very Short Introduction Marvin Carlson takes us through Ancient Greece and Rome, to Medieval Japan and Europe, to America and beyond, and looks at how the various forms of theatre have been interpreted and enjoyed. Exploring the role that theatre artists play — from the actor and director to the designer and puppet-master, as well as the audience — this is an engaging exploration of what theatre has meant, and still means, to people of all ages at all times. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Taylor (Spanish and comparative literature, Dartmouth College) draws on five Latin American plays written 1965-70 to illustrate how theatre both reflects and shapes political and economic events and movements. Of interest to students of either theatre or Latin America. All nations are translated. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR