Cold war theatres: theatre criticism and the institutional matrix of dramaturgy in post-war Germany

Bachmann, M. (2023) Cold war theatres: theatre criticism and the institutional matrix of dramaturgy in post-war Germany. In: Heinrich, A. and Simke, A.-C. (eds.) Dramaturgies of War: Institutional Dramaturgy, Politics, and Conflict in 20th Century Germany. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9783031393174 (In Press)

Abstract

In this chapter, I analyse the role of East and West German theatre in the incipient Cold War from 1945 to the mid-1950s. To this end, I propose an expanded model of institutional dramaturgy, whose focus is not on individual theatres and productions, but on a broader matrix of dramaturgical work. This includes arts criticism, cultural policy, dramaturgical and literary societies, and public debates about the role of theatre. As I will argue, this institutional matrix has particular significance for post-war Germany, where its various nodes support competing visions of the post-war state. I make this argument through an analysis of theatre reviews by East and West German critics, focusing on the dramaturgical and socio-cultural figures that permeate these texts. My research concentrates on divided Berlin as a “showcase” for the competition between political and ideological systems. Especially there, post-war theatre criticism has historiographical, dramaturgical and political functions with which it supports the reconstruction of the nation through theatre.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: In Press
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bachmann, Dr Michael
• Authors: Bachmann, M.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN2000 Dramatic representation. The Theater
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• ISBN: 9783031393174