Divadelní revue (Czech Theatre Review) 2016 · no 3
vol. 27 · March 2017 · no 3Summary
The third issue of 2016's Theatre Review brings forward a thematic section that addresses topics related to the 20th century Czech Theatre history. Honza Petružela analyzes Alfréd Radok’s stage production of Golden Carriage, a play by Soviet playwright Leonid Leonov. The production premiered in 1957 at the Prague National Theatre. The analysis of the production points out the importance of its influential and inspiring theatricality, as well as its – yet unknown – impact on the post-Stalinist critical discourse. The article discusses several versions of Leonov's drama and examines Radok's significant dramaturgical and directorial gesture, which turned the “heroic” play into the profound and subversive tragic tour de force that accentuated the theme of Holocaust. The production opened Radok's annus mirabilis, in which he also staged Lillian Hellman's The Autumn Garden or John Osborne's The Entertainer. The production that foreran Otomar Krejča's productions was a turning point, which unsettled current interpretive schemes and paved the way for the emergence of Chekhov's dramaturgy or so-called “drama of frustration”. In their essay “Normalization From Within (Theatre on the Balustrade, 1968–1974)”, Martin J. Švejda and Věra Velemanová focus on the history of the Theatre on the Balustrade in 1968–1974. The first part describes and analyzes the withdrawal of Jan Grossman, the artistic director of theatre in 1962–1968, after the August 1968 occupation of Czechoslovakia, and traces potential reasons for the company crisis that emerged before the 1968/1969 season. The second part discusses stage productions and various extra-artistic events in the theater that occurred during 1968/1969–1970/1971 seasons (i. e. from the end of the Prague Spring and the onset of normalization). The third part describes the period 1971–1974, in which the theatre, both artistically and non-artistically, adapted to the demands of normalization regime. The final part documents the life story of Jaroslav Gillar, an artistic director of the Theatre on the Balustrade in 1969–1974, with particular focus on the extant materials of the former State Security (StB). Věra Velemanová's “A Grain of Creation. Jan Dušek's Set Designs until 1989 (with an emphasis on productions related to František Zelenka, the set designer)” examines a segment of set designs designed by Jan Dušek (1942), the foremost representative of Czech action scenography. Dušek's work stems from visual art trends of 1960s (arte povera, objet trouvé), but it also resonates with Czech avant-garde visual art of 1920s and 1930s, particularly with the work of František Zelenka (1904–1944). The text tries to reveal some specific signs and symptoms of this intimate and close connection. In the essay “The Most Popular Actor Who Refused to Act. Rudolf Hrušínský as a Deputy of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia, 1990–1992,” Tomáš Zahradníček discusses a particular post-1989 political role of the most popular Czech actor of the time, whose face and voice was recognized intimately by every citizen – Rudolf Hrušínský (1920–1994). In 1990, R. Hrušínský was elected a member of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia and he stayed in parliament for a full two years of its extraordinary term until the spring of 1992. Zahradníček considers Hrušínský’s political engagement a specific part of his acting career. More importantly, however, Hrušínský – a very untypical deputy of the Federal Assembly, serves Zahradníček as a guide through the post-revolutionary parliament, its theatricality and “mediality” in which Hrušínský apparently refused to enact any visible role. The section on Czech theatre completes an interview with the Czech theatre scholar, historian, pedagogue and prolific reviewer and journalist Vladimír Just. The issue contains Jan Šotkovský's thorough review-essay on the recently released Polish book Aktorstwo polskie: Generacje (Polish Acting: Generation) written by Polish scholar Beata Guczalska, as well as a number of reports which monitor current state of Czech theatre studies research.
20th century Czech theatre
Honza PetruželaRadok’s Golden Carriage [article]
Martin J. Švejda & Věra Velemanová
Normalization From Within (Theatre on the Balustrade, 1968–1974) [article]
Věra Velemanová
A Grain of Creation. A Jan Dušek's Set Designs until 1989 (with an emphasis on productions related to František Zelenka, the set designer) [article]
Tomáš Zahradníček
The Most Popular Actor Who Refused to Act. Rudolf Hrušínský as a Deputy of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia, 1990–1992 [essay]
interview
"I do what I find interesting and consider presently essential." Interview with theatre scholar, pedagogue and reviewer Vladimír Just. (Barbara Topolová & Martin Pšenička)reviews
Jan ŠotkovskýPolish Acting in Historical Perspective (Beata Guczalska. Aktorstwo polskie: Generacje)
new book releases (October—December 2016)
reports
Jiří ŠtefanidesBe realistic, seek for the impossible (On the future of theatre history in the Czech Lands)
Aleš Merenus
Dictionary of Modern Czech Drama
JAMU
Errata for the book Prozření Genesiovo
Vladimír Just
Ad errata
Resumes of peer-reviewed articles
Honza PetruželaRadok’s Golden Carriage
In 1957, Alfréd Radok, at that time a director of the Prague National Theatre, stages Golden Carriage, a play by Soviet playwright Leonid Leonov. The analysis of the production points out the importance of its influential and inspiring theatricality, as well as its – yet unknown – impact on the post-Stalinist critical discourse. The article discusses several versions of Leonov’s drama and examines Radok’s significant dramaturgical and directorial gesture, which turned the “heroic” play into the profound and subversive tragic tour de force that accentuated the theme of Holocaust. The production opened Radok's annus mirabilis, in which he also staged Lillian Hellman's The Autumn Garden or John Osborne's The Entertainer. The production that foreran Otomar Krejča's productions was a turning point, which unsettled current interpretive schemes and paved the way for the emergence of Chekhov's dramaturgy or so-called “drama of frustration”.
Contact: Honza Petružela (Theatre Institute, Prague) — honza.petruzela(at)divadlo.cz
Martin J. Švejda & Věra Velemanová
Normalization From Within (Theatre on the Balustrade, 1968–1974).
The essay focuses on the history of the Theatre on the Balustrade in 1968–1974. The first part describes and analyzes the withdrawal of Jan Grossman, the artistic director of theatre in 1962–1968, after the August 1968 occupation of Czechoslovakia, and traces potential reasons for the company crisis that emerged before the 1968/1969 season. The second part discusses stage productions and various extra-artistic events in the theater that occurred during 1968/1969–1970/1971 seasons (i.e. from the end of the Prague Spring and the onset of normalization). The third part describes the period 1971–1974, in which the theatre, both artistically and non-artistically, adapted to the demands of normalization regime. The final part documents the life story of Jaroslav Gillar, an artistic director of the Theatre on the Balustrade in 1969–1974, with particular focus on the extant materials of the former State Security (StB).
Contact: Martin J. Švejda (Theatre Institute, Prague) — martin.svejda(at)divadlo.cz
Contact: Věra Velemanová (Theatre Institute, Prague) — vera.velemanova(at)divadlo.cz
Věra Velemanová
A Grain of Creation. A Jan Dušek's Set Designs until 1989 (with an emphasis on productions related to František Zelenka, the set designer).
The text examines a segment of set designs designed by Jan Dušek (1942), the foremost representative of Czech action scenography. Dušek's work stems from visual art trends of 1960s (arte povera, objet trouvé), but it also resonates with Czech avant-garde visual art of 1920s and 1930s, particularly with the work of František Zelenka (1904–1944). The text tries to reveal some specific signs and symptoms of this intimate and close connection.
Contact: Věra Velemanová (Theatre Institute, Prague) — vera.velemanova(at)divadlo.cz