The limits of political theatre? : subversion and integrity in metamorphosing public spheres

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61384984%3A51210%2F25%3AN0000099" target="_blank" >RIV/61384984:51210/25:N0000099 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://site.pheedloop.com/event/iftr2025/speakers/SPEGIXHDLTM" target="_blank" >https://site.pheedloop.com/event/iftr2025/speakers/SPEGIXHDLTM</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

The limits of political theatre? : subversion and integrity in metamorphosing public spheres

Original language description

How did theatre react to the societal transformation, after it lost its role as an opponent to the Communist regime? In the Czech case discussed in the paper, theatre searched for its new function in society and is said to have abandoned its interest in social and political issues in the 1990s. However, there were attempts to perform criticism of the insufficient reconciliation with the Communist past, mafia practices, and consumerism. The most ambitious productions, Karel Steigerwald’s Nobel and Pavel Máša’s Podivní práci premiered in the mid-1990s, were considered a failure though. Why did they not succeed neither with the audiences nor with critics? How did aesthetic and political aspects and their interplay contribute to failing? For what reason did Czech audiences generally prefer lighthearted humour to sharp satire? And how was the integrity of national identity related to this? The analysis is informed by Tony Fisher’s thoughts on political theatre’s functioning as an articulatory practice, Zdeněk Hořínek’s theory of comedy, and Christopher Balme’s concept of the theatrical public sphere. The presentation ends with more general reflections on the subversive potential of theatre in the wider public sphere undergoing a thorough transition. // HAMŘÍKOVÁ KUNDEROVÁ, Radka. The limits of political theatre? : subversion and integrity in metamorphosing public spheres. Conference papers. In Performing Carnival: Estasis - Subversion - Metamorphosis, congress of the International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) in University of Cologne (Germany), 12 June 2025.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60403 - Performing arts studies (Musicology, Theater science, Dramaturgy)

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů