Divadelní revue (Czech Theatre Review) vol. 32 · 2021 · no 3
Summary
The third issue of 2021's Theatre Review presents three peer-reviewed essays and four conference papers presented at the summer symposium in Mikulov (30–31 July, 2021), organized by Department of Czech Theatre Research of Arts and Theatre Institute, Prague in collaboration with the Mikulov Regional Museum. Martin J. Švejda's essay “‘I would never go back to the old style acting.’ The Life and Career of Anna Sedláčková after 1928” maps both the artistic and civil life of Anna Sedláčková (1887–1967), the biggest acting star of Czech theatre in the first half of the 20th century, after 1928, i.e. since her second performance of Marguerite Gauthier from The Lady with Camellias (Camille) in which she achieved the peak of her career. The article briefly characterizes Sedláčková's acting style and outlines the reasons for her great audience popularity. The author describes and analyzes Sedláčková's work, which ranges from her second guest performance at the Municipal Theatre in Královské Vinohrady (1928–1929), the subsequent work for the National Theater (1931–1934), her return to the Vinohrady Theatre (Municipal Theatres, 1934–1937), to the last short performance at the National Theatre (1938). In the final part, the study focuses on the history of her own Anna Sedláčková Theatre (1939–1944), describes the vicissitudes of these activities and Sedláčková's performances in this theatre. Otto Drexler in his analysis “Josef Träger's Theatre Report in the Situation of the Third Republic” discusses the activity of Josef Träger (1904–1971), a prominent Czech theatre reviewer of the 1930s and 1940s, between 1945 and 1948. The study is the result of an analysis of more than three hundred of the reviewer's theatre papers published between May 1945 and February 1948 in the dailies Svobodné slovo and Práce. Using the methods of critical discursive analysis, the author interprets reviewer’s relationship to contemporary reality, monitors opinions and argumentation strategies in relation to the contemporary intellectual field. In her essay (an abridged draft was presented at the Mikulov symposium in July 2021) “‘Son of the African sun’ and ‘inconspicuous black man’. Ira Aldridge and his Guest Performances in the Czech lands,” Klára Škrobánková study discusses the guest performances of the African- American actor Ira Aldridge (1807–1867) in the Czech lands in 1853 and 1858 and their critical reception. Škrobánková first presents Aldridge's biography, namely the establishment of his position as a continental star and the circumstances that resulted in the general acceptance of Aldridge as an African native. The core of the article is an analysis of Aldridge's performances in the Czech lands (Olomouc, Brno, Prague, Opava, Karlovy Vary, etc.), their dramaturgy, and especially his performance of Othello, a key role for Aldridge as a dark-skinned actor. It is the character of Othello and the critical reaction of Czech and German reviewers not only to his visual representation that provide the insight into the early perception of racial otherness in the Austrian monarchy. In the end, the study focuses on Aldridge's influence on Czech and German theatre in the mid-19th century. The four historically oriented conference papers cover the wide range of unique topics from the Baroque period to the 20th century. The presenters spoke about the representation of cars in theatre on one hand and the role of wine in Baroque theatre pieces on the other. The issue contains an interview with the Czech playwright Milan Uhde and one review of Barbara Day's recently published book in English on the history of Czech Theare. The review is published in English.
essays
Martin J. Švejda“I would never go back to the old style acting.” The Life and Career of Anna Sedláčková after 1928 [peer-reviewed article]
Otto Drexler
Josef Träger's Theatre Report in the Situation of the Third Republic [peer-reviewed article]
summer Theatre Research Symposium in Mikulov
Petra JežkováSummer with Theatre [foreword]
Klára Škrobánková
“Son of the African sun” and “inconspicuous black man”. Ira Aldridge and his Guest Performances in the Czech lands [peer-reviewed article]
Miroslav Kindl
From Regensburg to Vienna on the Danube. On the Beginnings, Journey and the End of Giovanni Burnacini's Theatre [essay]
Jitka Ludvová
Who was Andrea Giulliani, or else Inventory of the Estates Theatre from 1798 and 1799 [essay]
Miroslav Lukáš
Wine and its Role in the Baroque Plays [essay]
interview
I live off of doubts. Interview with Milan Uhde, the playwright (Jitka a Jan Šotkovští)review
Barry FreemanTrial by Theatre (Barbara Day: Trial by Theatre: Reports on Czech Drama)
new book relases
(November–December 2021)content
of 2021 Czech Theatre Review (32nd Vol.)Martin J. Švejda
“I would never go back to the old style acting.” The Life and Career of Anna Sedláčková after 1928.
The study maps both the artistic and civil life of Anna Sedláčková (1887–1967), the biggest acting star of Czech theatre in the first half of the 20th century, after 1928, i.e. since her second performance of Marguerite Gauthier from The Lady with Camellias (Camille) in which she achieved the peak of her career. The work briefly characterizes Sedláčková's acting style and outlines the reasons for her great audience popularity. The author describes and analyzes Sedláčková's work, which ranges from her second guest performance at the Municipal Theatre in Královské Vinohrady (1928–1929), the subsequent work for the National Theater (1931–1934), her return to the Vinohrady Theatre (Municipal Theatres, 1934–1937), to the last short performance at the National Theatre (1938). In the final part, the study focuses on the history of her own Anna Sedláčková Theatre (1939–1944), describes the vicissitudes of these activities and Sedláčková's performances in this theatre.
Contact: Martin J. Švejda | ORCID 0000-0002-1289-3876 | Kabinet pro studium českého divadla, Institut umění – Divadelní ústav | martin.svejda[at]idu.cz
Otto Drexler
Josef Träger's Theatre Report in the Situation of the Third Republic.
The media and theatre of the Third Czechoslovak Republic, with their plurality of opinions, did not foreshadow the period after February 1948. On the contrary, they confronted various ideas about the future of Czech culture. Nevertheless, the limits of hegemonic discourse made it impossible to return to the liberalism of the First Republic and preferred centralization and collectivist tendencies as solutions to contemporary problems. Josef Träger (1904–1971) was one of the prominent figures in Czech theatre criticism in the 1930s and 1940s. This study is the result of an analysis of more than three hundred of the reviewer's theatre papers published between May 1945 and February 1948 in the dailies Svobodné slovo and Práce. Using the methods of critical discursive analysis, the author interprets reviewer's relationship to contemporary reality, monitors opinions and argumentation strategies in relation to the contemporary intellectual field.
Contact: Otto Drexler | ORCID: 0000-0003-4030-6349 | Kabinet pro studium českého divadla, Institut umění – Divadelní ústav | otto.drexler[at]idu.cz