Divadelní revue (Czech Theatre Review) 2014 · no 2
vol. 24 · September 2014 · no 2Summary
The second issue of 2014’s Theatre Review focuses predominantly on the earlier Czech theatre history. Markéta Klosová’s article examines acting style in the J. A. Commenius’ cycle Schola Ludus. Klosová’s analysis is based on the detailed performance instructions that are included in the introduction to Schola Ludus, as well as on the author’s notes, which provide a thorough record of performance practice and acting. Josef Förster’s essay “Hanswusrt in Front of the Gates of Troy” presents a comprehensive introduction to Johann Christian Alois Mickl’s dramatic work, namely his “Hauptaktion” (main action) Eine lustige Comedie. Besides, the essay situates Mickl’s Latin plays within a domestic and European Jesuit playwriting of the first half of 18th century. The essay accompanies a short excerpt of the Comedie translated into Czech. Martin Hanoušek introduces a forgotten personality of Franz Alois Mussik (1779–1848), writer, playwright, national historiographer, reviewer, and typical period representative of educated man of many interests who cultivated a spiritual milieu of smaller towns. Lenka Křupková discusses in her article the era of Municipal Theatre in Olomouc under the leadership of theatre director Stanislaus Lesser. The essay describes internal operation of the theatre, including its ensemble and repertoire. It reveals conflict situations between the theatre director and municipal authorities and it also looks at the operation of the institution located in the specific situation of nationally divided milieu. The section dedicated to the earlier Czech theatre history conclude two essays written by Austrian scholars: Bärberl Rudin’s revised essay “Banisa as Hauptaktion: the Most Succesful Makeshift of Belated German Drama” traces a remarkable life of various stage adaptations of the most famous novel of German baroque Asian Banisa, or Else Blooded, though Brave City of Pergu (Die Asiatische Banise, Oder Das blutig‑ doch muthige Pegu, 1689); Matthias J. Pernerstorfer’s “Ferdiand Raimund in Telč: On the Castle Theatre and Theatre Library of the Count of Podstadt-Lichtenstein“ focuses on the second important theatre era at the Telč castle theatre. It introduces the theatre library and pays special attention to documents and plays related to or written by Ferdinand Raimund who performed at the Telč castle theatre. Austrian-oriented is also Vladimír Just’s essay “Karl Kraus’ Walpurgis Nights“ in which he strives to return Karl Kraus (1874–1936) back to theatre; to present him as a unique performer and pioneer of the one-man show theatre (so called Theatre of Poetry). The paper reflects Kraus’ critical approach to language in the context of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Martin Heidegger’s philosophical concepts; it also discusses contemporary parallels with Kraus’ brilliant and visionary critique of media, which function in the regime of phrases. A special section is dedicated to the contemporary issues related to the Czech translations of foreign theatre texts. Jarmila Jandová and Vladimír Just critically assess translations from Spanish (Rafael Spregelburd and Eduardo Pavlovsky), Zuzana Augustová focuses on the German-speaking plays (Elfriede Jelinek) and Petr Christov looks at translations from French. The common denominator of these essays is a strong accent on both aesthetic and ethic dimensions of translations. The issue contains an interview with the Czech theatre historian Ljuba Klosová, as well as three reviews of recently published books.
editorial
theatre and power
Markéta KlosováActors and Acting in the Comenius’s Cycle Schola Ludus [article]
Josef Förster
Hanswurst in Front of the Gates of Troy: A View on Johann Christian Alois Mickl’s Dramatic Work [article]
J. Ch. A. MicklCheerful Comedy (excerpt)
Martin Hanoušek
Franz Alois Mussik (1779–1848), Personage of the Northern and Western Bohemia [article]
Franz Alois MussikOpera Glasses: In Three Satirical Scenes (excerpt)
Lenka Křupková
“Deficit, which I cannot even calculate.” Era of Theatre Director Stanislaus Lesser in Olomouc Theatre between 1896–1904 [article]
Vladimír Just
Karl Kraus’ Walpurgis Nights [article]
Bärbel RudinBanisa as Hauptaktion. The Most Successful Makeshift of Belated German Drama [essay]
Matthias J. PernerstorferFerninand Raimund in Telč. On Castle Theatre and Theatre Library of the Count of Podstadt-Lichtenstein [essay]
theatre translations
Vladimír Just & Jarmila JandováCaramba! Or Carambole? [essay]Petr ChristovDerrida is a Good Girl! On Selected Boulvard Aspects of Contemporary Translations of French Texts for Theatre [essay]
Zuzana AugustováTranslating Jelinek. Transformations of Translations in Realtionship to the Transformations of Author’s Style [essay]
interview
Five Generations Tempted by the Tyl‘s Snake from Eden. Interview with the theatre historian Ljuba Klosová (Markéta Trávníčková)reviews
Jan DehnerLexicon in German (Theater in Böhmen, Mähren und Schlesien. Von den Anfängen bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts. Ein Lexikon. Eds. Alena Jakubcová, Matthias J. Pernerstorfer.)
Magdalena Kodedová
Is Literature Dangerous, or its Censors? (Nebezpečná literatura? Antologie z myšlení o literární cenzuře. Eds. Tomáš Pavlíček, Petr Píša, Michael Wögerbauer.)
Michal Zahálka
If Theatre had Memory (Eva Stehlíková: Co je nám po Hekubě?)
Vladimír Just
Few Tiny Corrections (Ad Eva Stehlíková: Miloš Hlávka se vrací [DR 2014, no 1].)
reports
Zdena Benešová & Helena HantákováNational Theatre Archive
Martin Hanoušek
Milena Cesnaková-Michalcová’s Collection in the Department of Czech Theatre Studies Archive
Resumes of peer-reviewed articles
Markéta KlosováActors and Acting in the Comenius’s Cycle Schola Ludus.
Unlike other extant theatre plays of the 16th–18th century, the introduction to Schola Ludus contains detailed performance instructions, including e.g. detailed information regarding the selection of actors and dress rehearsal. Moreover, eight plays of the cycle contain author’s notes (unusual practice for plays of this period), which provide a detailed record of performance practice and acting of students who were supposed to present not only objects and devices but also real relationships and emotional states, as well as actions that imitated real world actions. Comenius’ notes suggest that he preferred realistic style of acting, which considerably differed from stylized acting that prevailed in the 17th century Europe and which was described by the Jesuit F. Lang at the beginning of the 18th century.
Josef Förster
Hanswurst in Front of the Gates of Troy: A View on Johann Christian Alois Mickl’s Dramatic Work
The essay presents a comprehensive introduction to Mickl’s dramatic work, namely his German-speaking “Hauptaktion” (main action) Eine lustige Comedie. Several of his Latin plays were supposed to be a part of unfinished poem Recentior artis poeticae Helicon, in which Mickl intended to imitate all major ancient poetic and dramatic genres. The essay situates Mickl’s Latin-speaking playwriting within a domestic and European context of Jesuit playwriting of the 1st half of 18th century, and observes similar thematic as well as stylistic aspects. German-speaking play, which employs the topic of the conquest of Troy and the character of Hanswurst, belongs to the context of Mickl’s Latin-speaking humanistic-oriented work. It is an intriguing attempt at the imitation of typical period production of professional touring companies with their Hanswurst “Hauptaktions”.
Martin Hanoušek
Franz Alois Mussik (1779–1848), Personage of the Northern and Western Bohemia.
Writer, playwright, national historian and topographer Franz Alois Mussik spent most of his life in Krásná Lípa, Louny and Žatec. He was a typical period representative of educated man of many interests who cultivated with his literary work a spiritual milieu of smaller towns. He is an author of topographic works of local importance that observed economic, sociological and statistic facts of Northern and Western Bohemian regions. Between 1829 and 1839 he published six collections into which he incorporated his plays, designated for private performances or stage productions at private playhouses. He was a regional correspondent of the Prague newspaper Bohemia, ein Unterhaltungsblatt, and belonged to contributors of the Wiener allgemeine, Theaterzeitung. The paper intends to draw a closer attention to this remarkable personality who stood, at first sight, outside of cultural-social mainstream. However, his legacy, a wide scope of activities and ideas influenced by the late Enlightenment and emerging Romanticism deserve to be reminded.
Lenka Křupková
“Deficit, which I cannot even calculate.” Era of Theatre Director Stanislaus Lesser in Olomouc Theatre between 1896–1904.
The essay discusses the era of Municipal Theatre in Olomouc under the leadership of theatre director Stanislaus Lesser (1840–1907) in the period 1896–1904. This significant, originally tsarist actor who performed at many important German stages, and lately was in charge of theatre in Budapest and Berlin, presented a unique type of personality different to the ones who worked at the Olomouc theatre from the 1860s up to 1920, when the theatre was passed on to the Czech administration. The essay, based on the research of archive documents and other period resources, describes internal operation of the theatre, including its ensemble and repertoire. It reveals conflict situations between the theatre director and municipal authorities and it also looks at the operation of the institution located in the specific situation of nationally divided milieu.
Vladimír Just
Karl Kraus’ Walpurgis Nights.
The essay strives to return Karl Kraus (1874– 1936) back to theatre; to present him as a unique performer and pioneer of the one-man show theatre (so called Theatre of Poetry). Above all, the paper reflects Kraus’ critical approach to language in the context of Ludwig Wittgenstein and – surprisingly – Martin Heidegger’s philosophical concepts; it also discusses contemporary parallels with Kraus’ brilliant and visionary critique of media – represented in his time predominantly by press, photography, and emerging film industry – which function in the regime of phrases. For Kraus, media played a the most crucial role in triggering World Wars. The essay considers Kraus and his radical critique of media images a forerunner of many future theoretical concepts elaborated by Marshall McLuhan, Umberto Eco, or Vilém Flusser.