Divadelní revue (Czech Theatre Review) 2017 · no 2

vol. 28 · december 2017 · no 2

Summary

The second issue of 2017s Theatre Review brings forward a special section that focuses on Polish theatre. Dariusz Kosiński’s “Post-theater and the Return of Politics” discusses some contemporary Polish theatre productions staged in the context of current political changes in Poland. The conservative government created by Law and Justice (Prawo I Sprawiedliwość) brought back the strong political ideas and programs based on national values that contrast with the previous era of “postpolitics” – soft liberal rule focused on administration goals. This change also affects the theatre that for years represented the tool of social and political criticism, instigating some serious conflicts and developments of new strategies, which reflect on theater itself especially on its political and social effectiveness. This new strategies are analyzed here under the term “post-theater”, proposed by Tomasz Plata and developed in the series of case studies. Dominika Łarionow’s “Tadeusz Kantor – Difficult Heritage” presents the artist Tadeusz Kantor (1915–1990), who thirty years after his death seems to be virtually absent in Polish culture. The author discusses the reception of his work in the area of both visual arts and theatre. Kantor’s multifaceted work is perceived differently by painters, sculptors, and performers than by theater directors and even playwrights. In the field of Polish visual arts, Kantor has received an even more serious negation, while in the theatre the legacy of Cricot 2 is clearly more respected. The images from Kantor’s shows have become prominent icons of theater to which contemporary artists are referring. The author is not confined only to the Polish context. She examines the reception of Kantor’s work in Germany or America. In conclusion, the article mentions the references to Kantor’s work in popular culture, e.g. the advertising slogan of an international concern producing furniture. The author proposes that Kantor’s work is just waiting for a new discovery by the generation of emerging artists who are not burdened with the context of Polish culture of the twentieth century. The Polish section accompany Andrea Jochmannová’s case study “A. V. Hrska, Head of the Set Design Department of Brno theatre” and Nina Vangeli’s essay “Analyzing Dance Performace: Approaches”. In her essay, Jochmanová returns to the first attempt of the National Theater in Brno to install A. V. Hrska (1890–1954), the representative of modernist scenography, as the head of set design department. However, the expectations of the theatre, wherein scenography was still considered a low-budget cost, soon after the engagement of Hrska, who formerly worked for three years with the expressionist director K. H. Hilar, began to diverge. His one-season collaboration with the Brno theatre (1921–1922) document several set and costume designs that testify to Hrska’s attempt to unite the artistic expression of the theatre and to implement modern artistic practices. Nina Vangeli’s essay seeks to suggest various approaches for analyzing structures of fundamental dance forms and dance performances of contemporary theatre. Among these forms belong: “contemporary” dance forms (contemporary dance), physical theatre performances, classical dance (academic ballet) and its extension – neoclassical dance. Apart from these forms, the essay examines improvised dance performances (structures created before the eyes of spectators) and the buto dance (non-European structure), which also became part of the contemporary Western paradigm. The issue contains an interview with the Czech theatre scholar, educator and dramaturge Jana Pilátová, as well as a review of recently published book. In the section „documents“, we publish a transcript of Miroslav Horníček’s libretto of Circus Hope, 1948 mime show produced at Divadlo satiry (Theatre of Satire), which is accompanied with Ladislava Petišková’s commentary and photographs. The issue concludes Radan Dolejš’s article, which documents last days of Karel Hašler, Czech actor and singer who died in 1941 in the concentration camp Mathausen, Germany.

Polish Theatre

Dariusz Kosiński
Post-theatre and the Return of Politics [peer-reviewed article]

Dominika Łarionow
Tadeusz Kantor – Difficult Heritage [peer-reviewed article]

Study

Andrea Jochmanová
A. V. Hrska, Head of the Set Design Department of Brno theatre [peer-reviewed article]

Essay

Nina Vangeli
Analyzing Dance Performance: Approaches [essay]

interview

Cleaning the library. Interview with the theatre scholar, educator, and dramaturge Jana Pilátová. (Nina Vangeli) [interview]

reviews

Zuzana Augustová
On New Realism of German Theatre (Jitka Goriaux Pelechová: Divadlo Thomase Ostermeiera) [review]

new book releases (July – October 2017)

documents

Ladislava Petišková
Supressed Hope [article]

Miroslav Horníček
Circus Hope [script]

Radan Dolejš
View from the Inferno into the Paradise. Karel Hašler’s Last Days [article]

Resumes of peer-reviewed articles

Dariusz Kosiński
Post-theatre and the Return of Politics
The article discusses some contemporary Polish theatre productions staged in the context of current political changes in Poland. The conservative government created by Law and Justice (Prawo I Sprawiedliwość) brought back the strong political ideas and programs based on national values that contrast with the previous era of “postpolitics” – soft liberal rule focused on administration goals. This change also affects the theatre that for years represented the tool of social and political criticism, instigating some serious conflicts and developments of new strategies, which reflect on theater itself especially on its political and social effectiveness. This new strategies are analyzed here under the term “post-theater”, proposed by Tomasz Plata and developed in the series of case studies.
Contact: Dariusz Kosiński | Katedra Performatyki na Wydziale Polonistyki, Uniwersytet Jagie­lloński, Kraków, Poland | dkkd@poczta.onet.pl.

Dominika Łarionow
Tadeusz Kantor – Difficult Heritage
The article presents the artist Tadeusz Kantor (1915–1990), who thirty years after his death seems to be absent in Polish culture. The author discusses the reception of his work in the area of both visual arts and theatre. Kantor's multifaceted work is perceived differently by painters, sculptors, and performers than by theater directors and even playwrights. In the field of Polish visual arts, Kantor has received an even more serious negation, while in the theatre the legacy of Cricot 2 is clearly more respected. The images from Kantor's shows have become prominent icons of theater to which contemporary artists are referring. The author is not confined only to the Polish context. She examines the reception of Kantor's work in Germany or America. In conclusion, the article mentions the references to Kantor’s work in popular culture, e.g. the advertising slogan of an international concern producing furniture. The author proposes that Kantor's work is just waiting for a new discovery by the generation of emerging artists who are not burdened with the context of Polish culture of the twentieth century.
Contact: Dominika Łarionow | Katedra Historii Sztuki, Uniwersytet Łodzki, Lodž, Poland | dominikalarionow@autograf.pl

Andrea Jochmanová
A. V. Hrska, Head of the Set Design Department of Brno theatre
Andrea Jochmanová: A. V. Hrska, Head of the Set Design Department of Brno theatre. The study returns to the first attempt of the National Theater in Brno to install A. V. Hrska (1890– 1954), the representative of modernist scenography, as the head of set design department. However, the expectations of the theatre, wherein scenography was still considered a low-budget cost, soon after the engagement of Hrska, who formerly worked for three years with the expressionist director K. H. Hilar, began to diverge. His one-season collaboration with the Brno theater (1921–22) is documented by several set and costume designs that testify to Hrska’s attempt to unite the artistic expression of the theatre and to implement modern artistic practices.
Contact: Andrea Jochmanová | Oddělení dějin divadla Moravského zemského muzea v Brně, Brno, Czech Republic | ajochmanova@mzm.cz