Shakespeare on the German Stage: Volume 2, The Twentieth Century

by Wilhelm Hortmann

Overview

This history of Shakespeare in the German-speaking theater is set against the background of German culture and politics in the twentieth century. Following on the earlier volume by Simon Williams, Shakespeare on the German Stage, 1586-1914, Hortmann concentrates on the years of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) and the turbulent decades of the sixties and seventies. The work of individual directors, designers and actors is described and performances are plentifully illustrated. A section by Maik Hamburger describes the theater of the German Democratic Republic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521343862
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/28/1998
Pages:	519
Product dimensions:	7.13(w) x 10.04(h) x 1.18(d)

Table of Contents

1. Old traditions and new beginnings; 2. Shakespeare theatre in the Weimar Republic (1919–1933); 3. Shakespeare in the Third Reich (1933–1945); 4. Shakespeare on the postwar stage - continuity or a fresh start?; 5. Transvaluations: Shakespeare and the revolution of the West German stage (1964–1979); 6. Reconstruction, deconstruction, postmodernism: rediscovering Shakespeare in the eighties; 7. Theatre under socialism: Shakespeare in East Germany; 8. The end of an epoch - and some new faces.

Editorial Reviews

"...it is a masterpiece of its kind." John Rouse, Theatre Journal

"... this superb and richly illustrated work completes an exhaustively researched history of Shakespearean production within the broader framework of German-speaking theater.... Of special interest are the vivid, dramatic, and witty descriptions of important productions, including audience and critical reactions." Choice

"...offers a rich harvest to al lthose who wish to study twentieth-century uses of the plays in aid of uderstanding and assimilating Shakespeare now nad in the century to come." Shakespeare Quarterly

"...his book is a tremendous source of information not only for students of Shakespeare but also for scholars of German cultural history and for theater directors looking for inspiration for their own productions... without a doubt the most comprehensive survey of modern German Shakespeare productions published anywhere, and as such, it is a most welcome addition to international Shakespeare studies." Wilhelm Werthern, Modern Philology

"...containing as this volume does an extraordinary amount of reliable factual information on main currents of Shakespeare interpretation on the stages of Switzerland, Austria, the GDR, and the Federal Republic of Germany (before and after the merger of the last two entities), this is an essential book for university libraries." The German Quarterly

From the Publisher