KDS | Theatralia 1/2022: The Historical Avant-garde in the European Context
The first half of the year was challenging for Theatralia 1/2022 authors and editors: the Russo-Ukrainian War, Covid, and what not. But we managed to break all the barriers, and our very new issue dedicated to the historical avant-gardes is finally out!
The issue was edited by the two Czech avant-garde specialists Mariana Orawczak Kunešová and Andrea Jochmanová, who invited, interviewed, and themselves contributed to the current issue immensely. Check out Mariana Orawczak Kunešová’s article on “André Breton on French and Czech Stages” and her interview with no other but Henri Béhar, one of the founders of the research of the historical avant-gardes, especially of Dada and Surrealist theatre, in France, and Andrea Jochmanová’s meticulous archival account of the life and theatrical work of an actress, director, and teacher Lola Skrbková (1902–1978) published in the Archive section of the journal.
The scholars who also contributed to this issue and whose research you simply must read:
Didier Plassard with his study of puppet theatre experiments by the Cubist, Futurist, and Dadaist poets;
Hanna Veselovska, who wrote about the technicism in the Ukrainian avant-garde theatre;
Valentyna Chechyk focusing on the influence of Alexandra Exter’s stage design on Ukrainian scenography of the period;
Tomaž Toporišič dealing with the less known Balkan avant-garde after WWI;
Eva Šlaisová discussing the scenography for the play Těžká Barbora [Heavy Barbara] created by Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich and inspired by the art of Pieter Brueghel the Elder;
Dariusz Kosiński with his essay dedicated to Central-Eastern European avant-garde and much more.
Additionally, Iveta Slavkova wrote a review of Mariana Orawczak Kunešová’s monograph (in French) on Dada and Pre-Surrealist French theatre, Pavel Drábek, of Massimiliano Morini’s monograph on theatre translation, Šárka Havlíčková Kysová, of a monograph written by the Prague musicologist Tereza Havelková on hypermediality of opera, and finally, Kateřina Šalounová, of the new volume of Taneční aktuality [Dance Actualities] dedicated to dance education in the Czech Republic.
Eliška Raiterová contributed with the report from the conference The Ever-expanding Horizons of Theatre (2021) in JAMU.
Take a closer look at Theatralia 1/2022 at here. You can also purchase a copy through Muni Shop or directly from the Department of Theatre Studies (Gorkeho 57/7, 602 00 Brno, Building G).
