National Theatres In A Changing Europe

Description:
This new collection of essays addresses the historic and contemporary roles of National Theatres in Europe (such as those in London, Paris, Helsinki and Moscow) and the changing artistic, social, political and economic circumstances that have created a crisis for their position as cultural flagships today. Leading international theatre scholars including Marvin Carlson, Laurence Senelick, Loren Kruger, Willmar Sauter, Bruce McConachie and Thomas Irmer examine National Theatres throughout Europe, analyzing their structures and roles in society, and illuminating the problems that they are currently facing. Edgaras Klivis, Barbara Susec Michieli and Kalina Stefanova provide surprising perspectives on Baltic, Balkan and Eastern European countries, in the aftermath of recent political and cultural transitions. Dragan Klaic, from Serbia and the Netherlands, proposes a novel approach to National Theatre repertories, and Michael Coveney and Janelle Reinelt reflect on the practices of the National Theatre of London and on the implications of the newly created National Theatre of Scotland.

Table of Contents:
Author Preface Series Preface Notes on Contributors Introduction; S.E.Wilmer PART 1: BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW The Development of National Theatres in Europe in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries; S.E.Wilmer National Theatres: Then and Now; M.Carlson The National Stage and the Naturalized House: (Trans)National Legitimation in Modern Europe; L.Kruger Towards a History of National Theatres in Europe; B.McConachie PART 2: FORMATION, FUNCTION, LANGUAGE ISSUES AND IDEOLOGICAL CONTROL A Window to the West: Russian Imperial Theatres; J.Listengarten The Abbey Opens: A First Night Revisited; B.Levitas The Development of Norway's National Theatres; K.Shepherd-Barr Justification as National Throughout Changing Times: The National Theatre of Finland; P.Koski Creating and Dismantling the National Theatre in Divided Belgium; F.Peeters National on Compulsion: The Moscow Art Theatre; L.Senelick Italy: The Fancy of a National Theatre?; P.Gaborik PART 3: NEW FUNCTIONS AND STRUCTURES IN A CHANGING EUROPE Proliferation and Differentiation of National Theatres in France; D.Whitton A National Theatre Decentralized: Sweden's Three and a Half National Theatres; R.Hoogland & W.Sauter Aspects of National Theatres in Germany after 1945; T.Irmer The National Theatre and Civic Responsibility in the British Isles; M.Coveney Bulgarian National Theatre 'Ivan Vazov': Traditionally Non-Traditional; K.Stefanova The Disappearing Balkans: National Theatres and Geopolitics; B.Susec-Michieli Inadequate Subsidy and a Market Economy in the Baltic Countries; E.Klivis PART 4: CHALLENGES FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY National Theatres Undermined by the Withering of the Nation State; D.Klaic The Role of National Theatres in an Age of Globalization; J.Reinelt Select Bibliography Index

Author Biography:
S.E. WILMER is Associate Professor in Drama at Trinity College Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and author of Theatre, Society and the Nation: Staging American Identities (2002). Other publications include Writing and Rewriting National Theatre Histories (2004) and (with John Dillon) Rebel Women: Staging Ancient Greek Drama Today (2005).