Modern Czech theatre : reflector and conscience of a nation / Jarka M. Burian.

ISBN:

9781587293351

Title:

Author:

Burian, Jarka, 1927-2005.

Personal Author:

Burian, Jarka, 1927-2005.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 265 pages) : illustrations.

Series:

Studies in theatre history & culture

Contents:

1780-1900: Some Exposition before the Main Action -- 1900-1938: From the Turn of the Century to Munich -- Theatre during the Occupation and War Years -- The Postwar Years and the 1950s -- The Dynamic 1960s, Part One: Significant New Plays -- The Dynamic 1960s, Part Two: Key Productions in New Studio Theatres and Elsewhere -- August 1968: The Trauma and Its Aftermath -- A Gradual Thawing in the 1980s -- 1989 Annus Mirabilis for the Czechs and Their Theatre -- Liberation and Its Pains: The First Year after the November Revolution -- Czech Theatre of the 1990s.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

Theater -- Czech Republic -- History.

Czech drama -- History and criticism.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2000

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
792.0943710904 21	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

The story of Czech theatre in the twentieth century involves generations of mesmerizing players and memorable productions. Beyond these artistic considerations, however, lies a larger story: a theatre that has resonated with the intense concerns of its audiences acquires a significance and a force beyond anything created by striking individual talents or random stage hits. Amid the variety of performances during the past hundred years, that basic and provocative reality has been repeatedly demonstrated, as Jarka Burian reveals in his extraordinary history of the dramatic world of Czech theatre.

Following a brief historical background, Burian provides a chronological series of perspectives and observations on the evolving nature of Czech theatre productions during this century in relation to their similarly evolving social and political contexts. Once Czechoslovak independence was achieved in 1918, a repeated interplay of theatre with political realities became the norm, sometimes stifling the creative urge but often producing even greater artistry. When playwright Václav Havel became president in 1990, this was but the latest and most celebrated example of the vital engagement between stage and society that has been a repeated condition of Czech theatre for the past two hundred years. In Jarka Burian's skillful hands, Modern Czech Theatre becomes an extremely important touchstone for understanding the history of modern theatre within western culture.

Author Notes

Jarka Burian taught for nearly forty years in the Department of English and, later, the Department of Theatre at the University of Albany; he is now professor emeritus.

Reviews (2)

Choice Review

Except for articles in literary or theater histories, or introductions to collections like DramaContemporary. Czechoslovakia, ed. by Marketa Goetz-Stankiewcz (1985), Burian's is the first survey of modern Czech theater. For this, it has value, particularly as a reference source on productions, dramaturges, playwrights, theaters, and companies. More useful would be an alphabetically arranged handbook or dictionary, because as a critical reflection the book is a disappointment. Burian (emer., Univ. of Albany) is driven by a morality allegory of good times and bad times depending on the political context, even though his comments about specific productions often contradict any neat schemata. For instance, under renewed Soviet hegemony, the 1980s are defined as a low point; nevertheless, Burian describes three remarkable productions and two stunning new playwrights in detail. And vice versa, the post-Velvet Revolution 1990s are called a period of ferment and rebirth, but the problems of financing theaters and the limited achievement of Bure%sova (discussed in depth) belie Burian's optimism. None of the discussions goes very deeply into its topics. To not discuss intersections between theater and cinema, even when the same personalities contributed to each, is another limitation. Recommend mainly as a reference tool; all levels. D. N. Mager; Johnson C. Smith University

Library Journal Review

This history traces the development of Czech theater since the advent of realism in the late 1800s. Burian (theater, Univ. of Albany) is a Czech migr who has periodically gone back following the invasion of Prague in 1968 to study theater. He focuses on theaters, directors, designers, and playwrights as they struggle to make Czech theater a force in European drama and a voice of democracy against the forces of fascism and communism. Czech political and artistic lives are more intimately connected than in other cultures. A few major figures are in the foreground of this study: designer Joseph Svoboda, playwrights Josef and Karel Capek, and, of course, Vaclav Havel, who embodies the artistic/political union of our time. Behind these figures are a great many secondary artists of high quality whose reputations have not traveled as well to the rest of Europe. Hard going for lay readers, this book is recommended for academic libraries and theater collections.DThomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.