FASCISM AND THEATRE

Comparative Studies on the Aesthetics and Politics of Performance in Europe, 1925-1945
Edited by Günter Berghaus
304 pages, 45 photos, bibliog., index
ISBN 978-1-57181-901-7 Pb $24.50/£14.95 Published ( 1995)
ISBN 978-1-57181-877-5 Hb $59.95/£40.00 Published ( 1995)

“… [an] important and well-compiled collection … Berghaus’ superb introductory piece reminds us how severely distorted the lens through which we regard these troubling two decades has become … [he] seeks … to enlist the relatively new discipline of ‘theatre anthropology’ [and] the results are most impressive.”
· German Studies Review

“… an important addition to the literature … a fascinating, authoritative and highly informative collection of essays which will prove invaluable both to the specialist and the student reader.” · Theatre Research International

“… represents a fresh perspective on fascist theatre history … a valuable source book on the politics … achieves a searching comparative perspective on the phenomenon of Fascist aesthetics and theatrics … and will be useful both to all students of Fascism and … students of the performing arts.” · The International History Review

Since the 1920s, an endless flow of studies has analyzed the political systems of fascism, theseizure of power, the nature of the regimes, the atrocities committed, and, finally, the wars waged against other countries. However, much less attention has been paid to the strategies of persuasion employed by the regimes to win over the masses for their cause. Among these, fascist propaganda has traditionally been seen as the key means of influencing public opinion. Only recently has the “fascination with Fascism” become a topic of enquiry that has also formed the guiding interest of this volume: it offers, for the first time, a comparative analysis of the forms and functions of theater in countries governed by fascist or para-fascist regimes. By examining a wide spectrum of theatrical manifestations in a number of States with a varying degree of fascistization, these studies establish some of the similarities and differences between the theatrical cultures of several cultures in the interwar period. Günter Berghaus received his Ph.D. in Theatre Studies and his Habilitation from the Free University of Berlin, he taught at the University of London and now holds a Readership in Theatre History and Performance Studies at the University of Bristol.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. R. Griffin: Staging the Nations Rebirth: The Politics and Aesthetics of Performance in the Context of Fascist Studies
Chapter 2. R. Kühnl: The Cultural Politics of Fascist Governments
Chapter 3. G. Berghaus: The Ritual Core of Fascist Theatre: An Anthropological Perspective
Chapter 4. E. Gentile: The Theatre of Politics in Fascist Italy
Chapter 5. D. Thompson: The Organization, Fascistization and Management of Theatre in Italy, 1925-43
Chapter 6. P. Cavallo: Theatre Politics of the Mussolini Regime and their Influence on Fascist Drama
Chapter 7. M. Verdone: Mussolini’s “Theatre of the Masses”
Chapter 8. B. Panse: Censorship in Nazi Germany: The Influence of the Reich’s Ministry of Propaganda on German Theatre and Drama, 1933-1945
Chapter 9. B. Schültke: The Municipal Theatre in Frankfurt-on-the-Main: A Provincial Theatre under National Socialism
Chapter 10. H.-U. Thamer: The Orchestration of the National Community: The Nuremburg Party Rallies of the NSDAP
Chapter 11. S. Wahnon: Theatre and Falangism at the Beginning of the Franco Regime
Chapter 12. J. London: Competing Together in Fascist Europe: Sport in Early Francoism
Chapter 13. S. Added: Jacques Copeau and “Popular Theatre” in Vichy France
Chapter 14. E. Levi: Towards an Aesthetics of Fascist Opera
Bibliography
Illustrations
Index

Title Page

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