Divadelní revue (Czech Theatre Review) 2012 · no 3

vol. 23 · December 2012 · no 3

Summary

The third issue of 2012's Theatre Review brings forward three thematic sections. The first section addresses issues related to the Asian theatre. Zuzana Janoušková’s study examines Bertolt Brecht’s relation to Chinese theatre, and the ways in which this leading European theatre professional allowed himself to be inspired by its forms in his own dramatic and theatre practice. On the basis of the study of historical sources, of the poetics of Chinese theatre, and of analysis of Brecht’s plays which thematize the Chinese inspiration, Janoušková demonstrates how the Gernan theatre reformer perceived the Chinese theatre, and how he interpreted it from the European perspective, in line with his aesthetic objectives. Lucie Olivová analyzes the notes of a Yangzhou native Li Dou († 1817) about theatre, which form a part of his Yangzhou Excursion Boats (Yangzhou huafang lu), a very detailed and renowned book about the culture of the town. Li Dou wrote not only about the institutional and political background, but also about the dozens of theatre companies and hundreds of actors and singers who worked in Yangzhou during that time. Thanks to his book it is possible to reconstruct an instructive, if not exhaustive image of Chinese theatre at the highlight of its development. Šárka Havlíčková Kysová' “Koodiyattam: When Theatre Emerges from a Temple” discusses the koodiyattam, a form of Sanskrit theatre which for centuries was exclusively performed in temples, and only since the second half of the 20th century also outside of them. The study focuses on its history and scenic practice, and on its contemporary forms. Special attention is paid to acting (abhinaya) and its four main components which were defined in Natya Shastra, an Indian instruction book on theatre art, to the technique of the transformation of roles (pakarnnattam), as well as other important aspects of the koodiyattam performance, including the complex system of hand gestures (mudras). The second thematic section approaches the history of the 19th century Czech theatre. Petra Ježková brings to light one of the many unsuccessful, repeatedly rejected authors of the time, Josef Junghans (1837–1915), who kept sending his dramas to the National theatre for forty years (starting in the 1860s), without any single one of them ever being produced. In any case, Junghans deserves credit for promoting the cultural life of his hometown, Slaný, and for cooperating on the foundation of the local shareholding theatre, which resembled, in a humble way, the story of the foundation of the National theatre in Prague. The third section is dedicated to theatre theory. Aleš Merenus' study verifies, and to some extent historicizes the concept of drama as a literary work comprising of two textual components: the main and the secondary texts. In the second part the reader is presented with a functional model of the dramatic text, and with the concept of the so-called projected stage director, which helps to distinguish drama from other literary texts, especially from epic. In the conclusion the functional model and the concept of the projected stage director is confronted with that of the so-called post-dramatic theatre. The translation of the Polish debate “‘Performatika’/Performance Studies: a Key to All Locks” presents current issues and approaches in the discipline of theatre studies initiated by the inception of interdisciplinary and far-reaching field of performance studies. The theoretical section completes an interview with Emil Volek, a literary historian and theorist, called „It is more interesting to pursue questions“. The issue contains four reviews of recently published books, reports on conferences and debates organized by Czech Association for Theatre Research. In the last section of documents, we publish an excerpt of Lucia Repašská’s Master thesis in which she describes her personal experience as an assistant director at Eugenio Barba’s Odin Teatret.

editorial

asian theatre

Zuzana Janoušková
Brecht’s “Chinese” theatre: the Influence of Chinese theatre upon the Work of the German Reformer

Lucie Olivová
Yangzhou Theatre as Perceived by a 18th Century Expert

Šárka Havlíčková Kysová
Koodiyattam: When Theatre Emerges from a Temple


19th century

Petra Ježková
The Last of the Mohicans from Slaný

Markéta Trávníčková
Professional Beginnings of Czech Thalia on the Karolinum Square (Notes on the Research of the Czech-speaking Repertoir at the Estates Theatre, 1824–1862)

theatre theory

Aleš Merenus
Two Texts of Drama and the Projected Stage Director

[Dialog]
“Performatika”/Performance Studies – a Key to All Locks

interview

It is more interesting to pursue questions. Interview with a literary historian and theorist Emil Volek (Martin Pšenička and Ondřej Sládek)

reviews

Natálie Preslová
Theatre of the Absurd – Unsolved Riddle? (Pavel Trtílek: Specifika francouzského absurdního divadla.)

Barry Freeman
Theatre Historiography After Poststructuralism (Tobin Nellhaus: Theatre, Communication, Critical Realism.)

Vladimír Just
Theatre as the Hidden Side of Politics, or else Havel as a Theatre Practitioner, Essayist, Reviewer (Václav Havel: O divadle)

Petr Pavlovský
Better Late Than Never (Václav Havel: O divadle)

new book releases

reports

Věra Velemanová
About the FIRT Scenography Working Group Conference (Current Innovative Research in Theatre Design.)

Martin J. Švejda
Prague Fall Debates organized by the Czech Theatre Research Association (To the Theatre Research of the 1950'; To the Methodology of Theatre Research: Analyses of Little Theatre's Productions.)

Honza Petružela
Promising Half-Time of Brnonians (Structuralist Half-Time)

documents

Lucia Repašská
Odin Teatret – Tree with Deep Roots

Lucia Repašská
Diary of an Assistant Director at the Odin Teatret


Resumes of peer-reviewed articles

Zuzana Janoušková
Brecht’s “Chinese” theatre: the Influence of Chinese theatre upon the Work of the German Reformer
The study discusses Bertolt Brecht’s relation to Chinese theatre, and the ways in which this leading European theatre professional allowed himself to be inspired by its forms in his own dramatic and theatre practice. Brecht did not simply mechanically adopt the Chinese model, but used it instead to create an original dialogue of two independent aesthetic systems. On the basis of the study of historical sources, of the poetics of Chinese theatre, and of analysis of Brecht’s plays which thematize the Chinese inspiration, the author demonstrates how the German theatre reformer perceived the Chinese theatre, and how he interpreted it from the European perspective, in line with his aesthetic objectives. His interpretation of Chinese theatre techniques and methods cannot be approached as and objective reflection of Chinese theatre, but, rather, as a projection of his own concept of epic theatre, which seeks in the exotic influences a confirmation of its own premises.

Lucie Olivová
Yangzhou Theatre as Perceived by a 18th Century Expert
The study analyses the notes of a Yangzhou native Li Dou († 1817) about theatre, which form a part of his Yangzhou Excursion Boats (Yangzhou huafang lu), a very detailed and renowned book about the culture of the town. Li Dou wrote not only about the activities of the local Theatre office (he even included a complete list of the titles of the singspiels which the office considered), but also about the dozens of theatre companies and hundreds of actors and singers who worked in Yangzhou during that time. He knew the theatre world from his own experience – he composed music for singspiels, appeared occasionally on stage, and probably also worked as a teacher of singing in the kunqu style, ie. for theatre aimed at elite audiences. In his book he likewise pays detailed attention to the folk theatre huabu, which only few other authors of the time wrote about, with the exception of Jiao Xun (1763–1820), who praised folk theatre for its moral message. Thanks to these sources it is possible to reconstruct an instructive, if not exhaustive image of Chinese theatre at the highlight of its development.

Šárka Havlíčková Kysová
Koodiyattam: When Theatre Emerges from a Temple
The study discusses the koodiyattam, a form of Sanskrit theatre which for centuries was exclusively performed in temples, and only since the second half of the 20th century also outside of them. In Czech literature the koodiyattam theatre has so far been mentioned only sporadically. The study, therefore, purports to acquaint the Czech readers with its history and scenic practice, and with its contemporary forms. Special attention is paid to acting (abhinaya) and its four main components which were defined in Natya Shastra, an Indian instruction book on theatre art, to the technique of the transformation of roles (pakarnnattam), as well as other important aspects of the koodiyattam performance, including the complex system of hand gestures (mudras).

Petra Ježková
The Last of the Mohicans from Slaný
The process of the emancipation of Czech theatre in the second half of the 19th century, culminating in the opening of the National theatre in 1883, comprised a number of creative attempts which aimed at providing the Czech audiences with original dramatic texts. The study discusses one of the many unsuccessful, repeatedly rejected authors of the time, Josef Junghans (1837–1915), who kept sending his dramas to the National theatre for forty years (starting in the 1860s), without any single one of them ever being produced. In any case, Junghans deserves credit for promoting the cultural life of his hometown, Slaný, and for cooperating on the foundation of the local shareholding theatre, which resembled, in a humble way, the story of the foundation of the National theatre in Prague. Junghans' late creative attempts, and his failed ambition aimed at the National theatre, does not, however, diminish the success of his comedy The Last of the Mohicans. Its amateur productions supported many a charitable cause, and encouraged the national selfawareness. The social role of theatre is not always realized in the highest artistic achievements; on the contrary, the fascinating vitality of this archaic artform, which has helped it to survive until the present day, is more illustratively reflected in imperfect, amateur relaizations, which have expressed the necessity of commonly shared experience. The story of Josef Junghans is a story of high ambition and excessive self-confidence, which reflects the differences of criteria applied to amateur and professional theatre activity.

Aleš Merenus
Two Texts of Drama and the Projected Stage Director
The study aims at verifying, and to some extent to historicizing the concept of drama as a literary work comprising two textual components: the main and the secondary texts. In the second part the reader is presented with a functional model of the dramatic text, and with the concept of the so­called projected stage director, which helps to distinguish drama from other literary texts, especially from epic. In the conclusion the functional model and the concept of the projected stage director is confronted with that of the so­called post­dramatic theatre, which departs from the sphere of drama as a specific type of fictional text and aims towards the so­called theatre text, in which its characteristic as a sign is weakened in favour of the perception of the phenomena of sound, physicality, colours, rhythm, etc.