Recent international publications on the theory and practice of dramaturgy have illustrated the manifold forms of dramaturgy in the contemporary theatre landscape, widening the scope of the field and expanding the role and function of the dramaturge. In this context, Evelyn Deutsch-Schreiner returns to the basic question of what a dramaturge does in a thorough historical study that focuses on the German-speaking region, the geographical root of the modern understanding of dramaturgy.
The chapters scrutinize the practice of twelve pioneering dramaturges in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and are arranged chronologically, ranging from the eighteenth century until the present day. The first sections focus on the founders of the German tradition of dramaturgy, documenting how Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in Hamburg and Friedrich Schiller in Mannheim and Weimar established dramaturgy as a critical discursive practice from within the theatre. Combining their playwright activities with the new function of the dramaturge, they often collided with the theatre ensemble or with the management, but nevertheless shaped the image of the dramaturge as a critical yet productive voice for centuries to come. Two chapters are dedicated to twentieth-century heavyweight Bertolt Brecht, chronicling both his pre-war quest for collective dramaturgical practices and his well-known epic theatre work at the Berliner Ensemble in post-war East Berlin. The volume also focuses on internationally lesser-known dramaturges and gives an account of Joseph Schreyvogel's struggles with censorship in nineteenth-century Vienna, of Arthur Kahane's unique cooperation with film and theatre director Max Reinhardt, and of Kurt Hirschfeld's dramaturgical plea for humanistic values in Switzerland. The historical analysis is brought to a conclusion with two sections on contemporary dramaturgical practices, elaborating on the flexible and multi-layered working conditions of contemporary dramaturges like Stefanie Carp and Nadine Jessen.
Defining dramaturgy as a relational and dynamic practice, the author posits the dramaturge as a figure of liaison, who connects different elements within a theatre play, but also connects the theatre with its outside environment and the audience with the performance (p. 7). This rather broad definition leaves room both to consider the personal style of each dramaturge in their own time, and to illustrate the development of the profession throughout the centuries, documenting the evolution from the in-house dramaturge in German city theatres to more flexible working relations in the post-dramatic theatre tradition, in which the dramaturge is closely connected to an individual director or even to a specific theatre production.
Interestingly, the focus is not only on the talents and successes of the individual dramaturges, but also on their disappointments, their failed ambitions and their unsuccessful cooperations. Fascinating examples are Lessing's well-documented disillusions in eighteenth-century Hamburg and Bertolt Brecht's failed attempts to cooperate with Erwin Piscator after the Second World War. Here, the detailed historical and biographical background serves as a refreshing antidote to the myths that surround some of these German dramaturges to this day.
The volume includes compelling biographical research and broader political and economic contextualization, connecting individual dramaturges to specific historical periods. This way, the protagonists are presented as children of their time, while the chapters also document their emancipatory endeavours to shape public opinion and effectuate political and social change. Dramaturgy as a tool for emancipation has a dangerous flip side as well, which is illustrated in the section on Rainer Schlösser. He politicized dramaturgy during the Nazi regime, using it as a state instrument for censoring dissident voices and for furthering the racial views of the Third Reich through the performing arts.
The tight geographical focus on the German dramaturgical tradition offers a comprehensive overview of the origins of modern dramaturgy, but it also limits the frame of reference for international readers. Furthermore, it misses the opportunity to investigate the issue of the ‘proliferation’ of the German tradition of dramaturgy from a much-needed international perspective, specifically addressing how dramaturgy has evolved into a diverse and multi-layered international practice in recent decades. However, a comprehensive historical handbook on the origin of the modern understanding of dramaturgy is certainly an important step in de-territorializing the theory and practice of dramaturgy.
