Drama Revue 1/2001
Summary

J. Roubal: Ethos, Poetics, Practice

The text tries to summarize activities of two Brno studio theatres - Divadlo Husa na provázku and HaDivadlo - after 1989. After a brief mention of their previous history, the text is trying to achieve its goals at various levels. Initially, the changes that have taken part with regard to the outer situation of the theatres are mentioned: namely their social and professional satisfaction (among others, the opening of a new theatrical venue) and the changing of generations in their creative suites. Characterization of the artistic development is included further on in the text. Basically, a continuity of artistic programmes of author theatre - in case of DHNP the idea of "theatre in motion" and "irregular dramaturgy", in case of HD the notion of introspective, existential theatre - can be discerned. Although the perfomance styles of both theatres still retain some originality which time and again brings out characteristic performances of significant directors (e.g. P. Scherhaufer, E. Tálská - DHNP; A. Goldflam - HD), on the other side these performances can be said to be mere "stylistic exercises" of renowned directing approaches. Important directors of younger generation have been involved in both theatres - e.g. J. A. Pitínský (HD) and V. Morávek (DHNP), but they have finally left. It is important that both companies are more succesful in dealing with universal themes, contemporary reflection of social, actual situation is almost lacking in comparison to previous times. In acting, a typical oscillation between representative and presentative principes can be seen, created characters are often a stylized image of a type (or a stereotype), or they tend towards generation archetypical characters of contemporary Everymen. For DHNP, variations of clown perfomances are typical, while in HD, recent years have shown a tendency towards playfulness and improvisation on the part of the actors. An evident turn to dramatic text is another typical feature, with both theatres having adapted a number of classical and contemporary dramas, yet with an effort at creating an original author performance. Self-reflection and its specific form, remakes of previous performances, are in today as well. Summing up, it can be said that both theatres are nowadays fully developed companies whose activities are an important part of the development of Czech theatre, their creative goals yet modifying, but in essence they are an advancement, completion and sometimes repetition of their popular poetics. This is not to say that both theatres would be cut off from impulses of young generation, but on the other hand a mutual dialogue does not lack certain problems. The founding generation of these companies goes through a typical paradox today: instead of former efforts at "freedom in theatre", they are faced with new questions of "theatre in freedom".

M. Cesnaková-Michalcová: Theatre Artists from Bohemia in the Hungarian Lands in 18th and 19th Century

Prague had played cultural and political role as a mediator of German theatre in host countries in the last third of 18th century and in the beginning of 19th century. German theatre had been on such level that it was able to send their artists to German theatres in other countries. In that time many players becoming from Bohemia and Moravia significantly asserted themselves e.g. in Hungarian countries not only as the members of professional companies where they worked as actors, singers, musicians or dancers but particularly as the theatre directors and entrepreneurs. In Bratislava (in that time called Prešporok, Pressburg, Pozsony) in 1773-1779 there was active Karl Wahr who according the reforming ideas of Gottsched and Neuber put a new base and perspective to the theatre in that town. Prague born F. J. Bulla was the theatre leader in Pest, he played in a new theatre in Košice (1788-1790) and later he worked in Lvov where he founded and was leading the German Theatre (from 1791 till his death in 1819). In the beginning of 19th century the company of Prague native Václav Mihule was playing in Košice.
Touring companies were international in the beginning of their existence. But during the time the national issues were coming in the limelight. and the cosmopolitan theatre art has gradually changing into the national kind of theatre. This developement is demonstrated by the activity of universal artist F. X. Jioík, the member of opera theatre in Prešporok and later the member of German theatre in Pest-Budin.

V. Ambros: The Hourglass

The contention of this article is to examine the ways in which the teachings of the Prague Linguistic Circle entered the present discourse on semiotics of drama and theatre. In comparison to the theories of the Russian formalists, which, at least in their opening phase, analysed contemporary Russian avant-garde poetry, the co-operation with the Czech avant-garde theatre prompted some scholars of the Prague Linguistic Circle to develop a semiotics of theatre and drama. A number of their works penetrated the contemporary discourse on theory of theatre and drama.
The scope of this article allows but three examples. Among the most important contributions is the book by Keir Elam, which expands some of the most important ideas of the Prague structuralists while incorporating the contemporary scholarship. Another work by Savona and Aston uses the teachings of the Prague school in several instances. Finally, Michael Quinn in his book Semiotic stage concludes that the Prague structuralism anticipated some post-modern trends. Quinn's work as that of the others too would deserve a Czech edition.

Z. Augustová: Tartar Pilgrimage as the Lyrical Text

This essay analyses the poetics of dramatic first-fruit of Karel Steigerwald from 1979 Tatarská pouť (Tartar Pilgrimage). The playwright has based the image of his play on the "absence" of form, on the quotations and "non-original" vocabulary. The text material of this work is organized on the base of lyrical principle. The characters, time and space have no firm structure, the objectivity has been interferred and the realia has lost their "physique", one matter dissolves into another one: the statements of individual characters, various changing environments and various periods of time. "Decrease of physical reality", its banality is communicated by the lyrical irony and self-irony which is expressed by the author by quotations of period phrases and slogans, ideational and sentimental clichés of the years from fifties to seventies. It is not genuine lyricism, Steigerwald's vocabulary is "assumed" but that's why this play directly expresses period sense of life as if it literally sprang from the period and dissolved in it again. The subject in Steigerwald's play is not the person. It is impersonation of "minimal humanity" that can exist in life space where the existential dimension has been missing.