Divadelní revue (Czech Theatre Review) vol. 30 · 2019 · no 3


Summary

The third issue of 2019s Theatre Review contains two essays, one of which focuses on the Communist propaganda campaign of 1977 and the other one on the Czech theatre theory in the historical perspective. Petr Blažek's article “Ritual of Loyalty. The Assembly of Artists at the Prague National Theater on January 28, 1977 as a Pinnacle of Propaganda Campaign Against the Charter 77 Signatories” is a historical analysis which discusses the assembly of artists at the historical building of the Prague National Theatre. The event is examined in the context of Communist propaganda campaign against the signatories of the Charter 77. The essay focuses on the media presentation of the assembly, including the form of television broadcasting. The meeting took place in a space that symbolizes the national revival traditions and took the form of a specific ritual of loyalty staged by the totalitarian system. The essay is accompanied with two authentic documents: the proclamation that was signed by foremost Czech artists “For New Creative Acts in the Name of Socialism and Peace” and the “Record from the Meeting of Signatory Headquarters…”. In his essay “Two Traditions in One: Theory as Experiencing Memory”, Jaroslav Etlík reassesses Czech theatre theory that has succeeded in creating an organic and highly productive corpus of concepts by means of which it is able to precisely analyze a number of diverse functional relationships not only in the field of theatre art. For Etlík, many of these traditional and well-established concepts have to defend their functionality and productivity under the current influx of new theater experience, new trends that have recently emerged in theatrical practice, as well as new knowledge brought about by the most recent theatre scholars. The balancing of traditional concepts of Czech theatre theory with these new views on theater is one of the important topics of this article, which seeks to reflect the current state of Czech theater terminology in relation to the new era. The 30th anniversary of the 1989 Velvet Revolution commemorates the radio interview between Petra Kutková and the Czech theatre director Lída Engelová. The document about the November and December events of 1989 in Ostrava, which reveals very specific milieu of Ostrava region which used to be a bastion (“iron heart”) of Communist Czechoslovakia, prepared Honza Petružela. The issue includes Eva Stehlíková's interview with the Czech actor and historian Jaroslav Someš. In his review, Jan Šotkovský discusses Dariusz Kosiński's book Grotowski: Profanacje in which the prominent Polish theatre scholar re-interprets three of Jerzy Grotoski's early 1960s productions of Dziady, Kordian and Acropolis. The review section concludes Berenika Zemanová Urbanová with her reflection of the new Czech translation of Franz Grillparzer Fame and Fall of King Otakar.

analyses

Petr Blažek
Ritual of Loyalty. The Assembly of Artists at the Prague National Theater on January 28, 1977 as a Pinnacle of Propaganda Campaign against the Charter 77 Signatories [peer-reviewed article]


supplements
For New Creative Acts in the Name of Socialism and Peace [1977, document]
Record from the Meeting of Signatory Headquarters… [1977, document]

Jaroslav Etlík
Two Traditions in One: Theory as Experiencing Memory [peer-reviewed article]


Honza Petružela
Document: the role of Ostrava theatres during the 1989 Velvet revolution
Transcript of Petra Kutková's interview with theatre director Lída Engelová, Czechoslovakian Radio Ostrava, November 31, 1989 [document]

interview

with an actor and historian Jaroslav Someš: A Man of Multiple Professions (Eva Stehlíková)

reviews

Jan Šotkovský
Kosiński‘s Fight for Grotowski: Historization, Topicalization, Profanation (Dariusz Kosiński: Grotowski. Profanacje.)

Berenika Zemanová Urbanová
Carefully Elaborated Grillparzer (Franz Grillparzer: Sláva a pád krále Otakara.)

new book relases

(November–December 2019)

content of Theatre Review 2019 (Vol. 30)



Petr Blažek
Ritual of Loyalty. The Assembly of Artists at the Prague National Theater on January 28, 1977 as a Pinnacle of Propaganda Campaign against the Charter 77 Signatories [peer-reviewed article]
The historical analysis discusses the assembly of artists at the historical building of the Prague National Theatre. The event is examined in the context of Communist campaign against the signatories of the Charter 77. The essay focuses on the media presentation of the assembly, including the form of television broadcasting. The meeting took place in a space that symbolizes the national revival traditions and took the form of a specific ritual of loyalty staged by the totalitarian system.
Contact: Petr Blažek | Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů | petr.blazek(at)ustrcr.cz

Jaroslav Etlík
Two Traditions in One: Theory as Experiencing Memory

Over the course of the 20th century, Czech theater theory has succeeded in creating an organic and highly productive corpus of concepts by means of which it is able to precisely analyze a number of diverse functional relationships not only in the field of theatre art. Yet currently, many of these traditional and well-established concepts have to defend their functionality and productivity. It happens logically, under the influx of new theater experience, new trends that have recently emerged in theatrical practice, as well as new knowledge brought about by the most recent theatre scholars. The balancing of traditional concepts of Czech theatre theory with these new views on theater is one of the important topics of this article, which seeks to reflect the current state of Czech theater terminology in relation to the new era.
Contact: Jaroslav Etlík | Divadelní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze | jaroslav.etlik(at)damu.cz