Theatre, Performance, And the Historical Avant-garde

by Berghaus, Günter

• ISBN13: 9781403969552
• ISBN10: 1403969558
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-01-22
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This comprehensive study traces the origins of European modernism in nineteenth-century Paris, then branches out to examine four major movements of the theatrical avant-garde that sprung from this epicenter in the early twentieth-century: Expressionism, Futurism, Dadaism, and Constructivism.

Author Biography

Günter Berghaus is Senior Research Fellow, University of Bristol.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xxi
1. Introduction: The Genesis of Modernism and of the Avant-garde	1	(54)
Modern, Modernity, Modernism	1	(2)
The Evolution of Modernity: Paris in The Nineteenth Century	3	(11)
Preparing the Ground for Modernism: Romanticism, Realism, Symbolism	14	(12)
The Crisis of Modernity and the Advent of Modernism	26	(9)
The Concept of the Avant-garde	35	(4)
Avant-garde, Modernism, and the Mainstream	39	(6)
Toward an Avant-garde Conception of the Performing Arts: Alfred Jarry and Wassily Kandinsky	45	(10)
2. Expressionism	55	(36)
Introduction	57	(2)
Expressionist Theatre—a General Characterization	59	(5)
Kokoschka's Murderer Hope of Women	64	(6)
Lothar Schreyer's Stürmbuhne and Kampfbühne	70	(9)
Laban, Wigman, and Expressionist Dance Theatre	79	(6)
Expressionism in the Theatre of the Weimar Republic	85	(6)
3. Futurism	91	(44)
Marinetti's Sociopolitical Concept of "Art as Action"	92	(4)
Futurist Political Action Theatre	96	(3)
The Engineering of Theatre Scandals	99	(2)
The Futurist Soirées (serate) as a New Type of Performance Art	101	(11)
Futurist Experiments with New Theatrical Formats	112	(1)
Balla and Depero's Plastic Complexes and Mechanical Ballets	113	(6)
Prampolini's Vision of an Actorless, Electromechanical Theatre	119	(2)
The Gallery Performances	121	(3)
Artist Cabarets and Banquets	124	(4)
The Futurist March into the Mainstream	128	(7)
4. Dadaism	135	(46)
Introduction: From Expressionism and Futurism to Dadaism	135	(3)
Hugo Ball, the Cabaret Voltaire, and Zurich Dada	138	(8)
Dada in Berlin	146	(9)
Dada in Paris	155	(11)
Dada Art and Anti-Art	166	(2)
Dada Performance Art	168	(8)
Dada's Originality and Contribution to the Theatre	176	(5)
5. Constructivism	181	(52)
Terminology and General Introduction	181	(1)
Constructivism in Russia	182	(5)
International Constructivism	187	(2)
The Bauhaus	189	(4)
Constructivist Theatre in Russia	193	(14)
Theatre at the Bauhaus	207	(23)
Constructivism Conquers the Mainstream	230	(3)
6. Epilog: The Postwar Revival of Modernism and of the Avant-garde	233	(6)
Notes	239	(44)
Bibliography	283	(60)
About the Author	343	(2)
Name Index	345	(14)
Subject Index	359