the repertoires of slovak and slovenian … repertoires of slovak and slovenian theatre houses and...

TheSlovakTheatre–2017–Volume65–Number3 DOI:10.1515/sd-2017-0016

THE REPERTOIRES OF SLOVAK AND SLOVENIAN THEATRE HOUSES AND THEIR PRODUCTIONS OF THE WESTERN EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN AUTHORS (1945 – 1970)

ROKANDRESUniversityofNovaGorica,Slovenia

Abstract: This article is a comparative review of performances of Western European and Ameri-canauthorsinSlovakandSloveniantheatresinthetwodecadesafterWorldWarII.First,wepresentashorthistoricalcontext,comparingthepoliticalsystemsandculturalpoliciesofbothstates.Wedefinetheimportanceoftheselectionofworksfortherepertoire(s)andthenparallelthemtothemaincharacteristics,authors,anddramatictextsprevalentinthatperiod.Second,we highlight the particularities of staging of the Western European and American authors in bothculturalspaces,evaluatetheirimportance,andexplicitlydeterminethefundamentaldif-ferencesbetweenthetwotheatrespacesandperformingartsinthesocialistsystemingeneral.Third,weexposethesimilaritiesanddifferencesinthequantityanddiversityofauthors.Thisisdoneonthebasisoftheperformancesbyinstitutionaltheatres,recordedintherepertoireda-tabasesoftherespectivecountries.Everythingdeviatingfromthenormislocatedinaseparatechapter,asaphenomenon,wherewearelookingforthereasonsfor(not)performingcertainauthorsorpoetics.Thearticlefunctionsasareviewoftheperiod,andseekstoshedlightonthe-atreproductionintheCentralEuropeanculturalareaduringtheundemocraticsocialistregime,regardlessofbasicdifferencesbetweenthetwopoliticalsystems.Key words: repertoire,WesternEuropeanauthors,Sloveniantheatre,Slovaktheatre,perfor-mances

I.

ThecharacteristicsoftherepertoiresoftheSlovenianandSlovaktheatresinthefirst twodecadesaftertheSecondWorldWarcoincideaswellasdivergeinmanyways.Thebiggestchallengeistofindacommondenominatorforthetwodifferentartistic-culturalareas.Thedefinitionsof theperformingartsare frequently impos-sibletodeterminebecauseoftheirchangingnature,butwewillexaminethesimilari-tiesanddifferencesbetweenthetheatreinstitutions,accordingtotherepertoiresandstaging of Western European or American playwrights. Formal (and legal) institution of theatres is similar in both cases,mostly because of the sameCentral Europeanconceptoftheatre(whichisstronglylinkedtotheGermanmodelandtradition)thatestablishespermanentensembles,arepertoiresystem,statefoundingandfunding,andassignsgovernancestructureoftheatrehouses.Stronglyrelatedtothese,thereisalsoaweak(ornon-existent)autonomyofartandartistsinundemocraticregimes.Therepertoirepolicyisformeddependingonmanyfactors:thetypeoftheatre,

sortandsizeofthetargetaudience,ensemble,andalsoonthepoliticalregime(sys-tem)oftheState(culturalarea)inwhichthetheatreworks.Theindividualparameterswhichdefine the basic repertoire policy of the theatre institution are also variouscommitteesandcouncilsthatcontroltheworkofatheatre.Inpublicinstitutions,also

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inthefieldofculturethesocialistsystemappointedtheCommunistPartymembers.Further,otherindividualswerealsoappointedasmembersofthecouncilandstaffrepresentativesbythegovernmentineachinstitution.

The production of institutional theatres with their repertoire decisions shows var-ious,socialandart-relatedproblemsoftheerainwhichitworks.ThetimeaftertheSecondWorldWarinEuropewasdeterminedbytwopoliticalpoles:capitalist(West-ern)andnon-democratic(socialist,Eastern).Relationshipofthepoliticstoperform-ingartsissimilartothatdivision,butwewillnotexposeitinthisarticle.However,weneedtohighlightthedifferencesbetweenthetwotypesofsocialistsystem,whichwereestablishedintheartandpublicspacesoftheanalysedcountriesandculturalbackgrounds.

Discussing the relationships in the institutional theatres in time after the Second WorldWarmustbeassessedinrelationtothesocialandpoliticaleventsoftheselect-ed period – i.e. the time window. While exploring repertoire decisions and staging of WesternEuropeanandAmericanplaywrights,itisnecessarytoexposethepoliticalmoment,becausetheStateanditsmachineryeitherexplicitlyorimplicitlyaffecttheformation of the repertoire and also the performance aesthetics.Thepost-warperiodof theSlovaktheatre isdescribed in thearticleThe artistic

and non-artistic reasons for the manifestations of generationality in Slovak theatre in the second half of the 20th centurybyAndrejMaťašík.MaťašíkdescribedthecomparativeoutlineforthehistoricaltimeofthechosentimewindowinSlovakia(thenpartofTheCzechoslovakRepublicandtheCzechoslovakSocialistRepublic)bytwobasicevents:“The issueof researchingSlovak theatre in thesecondhalfof the20thcentury

hasbeenfundamentallyinfluencedbythesocialframesofartisticproductioninthatperiod.Thereweretwokeyeventsthatcausedthechangeoftheinitialparadigmofartisticactivities.ThefirstofthesewastheCommunistParty’sseizureofpowerinpost-warCzechoslovakiainFebruary1948andthesecondwastheoccupationofthecountrybyWarsawPactmilitaryforcesinAugust1968.”1

The argument for the chosen time window for the Slovenian situation is similar to theSlovakcircumstances.Ithasthesamestartingpoint–theendoftheSecondWorldWar,anditisconcludedbytheappearanceofstudentmovementsintheyears1968-1969.Itisendingbytheperiodwhentheexperimentalandneo-avant-gardeperfor-mancepracticeshadoccurred.InSlovenia:withtheestablishmentoftheEksperimen-talnogledališčeGlej[GlejExperimentalTheatre]inthebeginningof1970.ThemaindifferencebetweenSlovenianandSlovaksocio-politicalsituationsisthe

influenceoftheSovietUnion.TheYugoslavauthoritiessoonbegantodistancethem-selves from the Stalinist concept of socialism.Meanwhile in Slovakia “The SovietUnion9/4/1948Czechoslovakia,asinotherEuropeancountriesunderitsdirectinflu-enceistransformedintocommunistcountries–thecountriesofpeople‘sdemocracy”2.SowhileYugoslavia remained in akindof soft intermediate areabetween the

WestandtheEast,theCzechoslovakiafounditselfinarealEasternbloc,whichafter-wardsresultedinaculturalpolicy,differenttotheoneinYugoslavia.TheSlovenian

1MAŤAŠíK,Andrej. Theartisticandnon-artisticreasonsforthemanifestationsofgenerationalityinSlovaktheatreinthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury.InSlovenské divadlo,2013,Vol.61,SpecialIssue,p.85.

2NEĆAK,Dušan–REPE,Božo.Oris sodobne obče in slovenske zgodovine.Ljubljana:Filozofskafakulteta,Oddelekzazgodovino,2003,p.187.ISBN961-237-046-X.

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(thenFederalPeople’sRepublicofYugoslavia)situationcanbesimilarlydescribedbytwomainevents.TheCommunistPartycametopowerin1945.In1948theconflictwith theInformbirostarted.Ontheothersideof the timeline:studentdemonstra-tions(withtheoccupationoftheFacultyofArtsinLjubljana).Thiswasfollowedbya politically very strict period in the 1970s when the Party tried to maintain the power withitslastauthoritarianimpulses.Thediversityofsituationscanbeseeninthelate1960s,whenthesocalled“PragueSpring”broughta littlehopeandwasviolentlyrepressedbyinvadingarmiesledbytheSovietUnionthatconsequentlyresultedtomoresevererepression.Atthatpointmaytheendsofourchosenperiodsbecom-paredtoeachother.Mostlybecauseoftheirpoliticalanddiscoursepower,irrespec-tiveofopenness,successwhichisinYugoslaviaonlyapparent,asalreadymentioned,followedbyamorerigid1970s.Theeventsaroundthe“PragueSpring”intheEuropeancontextweredescribed

in Oris sodobne obče in slovenske zgodovine byBožoRepeandDušanNećak.WhenYu-goslaviawas gradually turning towards theWest after the affairwith Informbiroandmovedaway fromStalinandhispolicy,“Czechoslovakiahasnotbeenunderaglobalde-Stalinisationandthedemocratizationprocessuntil1968.”3 The reason for thiswasthe“Praguespring”inCzechoslovakia,wherethenewleadersgrantedthecitizensmorecivilandnationalityrights,carriedoutcentralization,federalizationofthecountryandintroducedaneconomicreform.However,thisshiftdidnotlastlong,becauseitwasfollowedbymilitaryinterventionasearlyasAugust1968.4 The authors pointoutthatinthatyearEuropewasfullofreformist,mostlystudentmovements(Germany,France,Yugoslavia,etc.).Therefore,theyear1968becomessynonymousfor such political movements.IntheSlovenianterritory,ontheotherhand,attheendoftheSecondWorldWar,

people’s government under the leadership of the Communist Party demolished the entireoppositionandtheInformbiroaffairhappened.ThisbegantomovethecountryawayfromtheSovietUnionanditsculturalmodel.Thedifferencesbetweenthetwovisionsofsocialismbeganin1948,whenthedeteriorationoccurredafterthreeyearsoffriendlyandalliedrelationsbetweenYugoslaviaandtheSovietUnion.Anearde-cade-longperiodwithalmostnodirectpoliticalandculturalcontactsfollowed.WhenitcomestotheSlovenianperformingarts,thefiftieswerethetimewhenthe

practice was faced with an aesthetic turn that led from the aesthetics of social realism to more modern approaches. What is especially important is the intense confronta-tionwithdramaticcreativitythatcamefromtheWest,fromcapitalism.Moreover,thetheatrespacebegantomoveawayfromthepoliticalstructures(ifnotopenly,atleastintheundergroundactivity)andbecamemoreindependent,engagedandcritical.5 Wecharacterize thisperiodby its increasingly intense opening towards theWest,whichismostclearlynotedinthefieldofcultureandart.BecauseoftheblockadeoftheEasternBloc(SovietUnion),theonlypossiblewayoutofisolationledtowardsthedirectionof(silent)cooperationwiththeWest.However,thePartystillpreserved

3Ibid,p.222.4Ibid.5FormoreinformationrefertoANDRES,Rok.TheatreproductionsbyWest-Europeanauthorsinthe

1950‘sinSlovenia:receptionandresponse.InDivadlo v období hodnotovej krízy : zborník referátov z XII. medzi-národnej Banskobystrickej teatrologickej konferencie v cykle Dnes a tu,2015,p.269.ISBN978-80-89555-60-4.

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censorshiponallthelevels,buthadtobeoperatedsecretly,becauseanydirectin-terferencewithartisticprocessesandfreedomofcreationwouldprobablygeneratea deterioration of relations with the Western allies.

II.

Beforewelookcloselyatthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthetwoculturalspaces,itisnecessarytobeawareofthedifferenceinpopulation(andconsequently,thenumberof theatres and theatre events),whichputs all these facts in a certainperspective.TheSlovakpartofCzechoslovakia in the1950shadanaverageof3.5millioninhabitants,whileSlovenia(aspartoftheFederalRepublicofYugoslavia)inthe same period had a population of approximately 1.5 million. Theatre production in Slovakiawas consequently larger (broader), but theSlovenianonewas smaller(moredense).Lowerproductionprospectsand thesizeof thecountrycouldhavehadaconsequence:lessaudienceandreflection.However,theanalysisofthereper-toiresrevealedthatSlovenianproductionwasevenmoremodern,moreintouchwithEuropeanflows.Ontheotherhand,thiscanbeattributedtothepermeableborders,alessseverecensorship,andtothefactthatthepositionofSlovenianculturewithinthestateofYugoslaviawasratherpro-Westernoriented.Thebigdifferencebetweenthebothspacesatthetimewasthenumberoftheatres

percapita.Consequently,thatmeansadifferentaccessibilityoftheatrearts.Thedif-ferencesbetween the twocountriesareobvious,but thenumberof stagedperfor-mancesand the titlesofnew,modern,Western textsdidnotvarya lot.Themostvisibledifferencewas (not) staging the existentialist andabsurddrama.6 Tomakethe situationmore comparable, only institutional theatrehouseswere included inthisselection.Experimentalandoff-scenetheatreswereintentionallyleftout.Non-institutionalsceneisestablishedasanexampleoftheimplementationofsomethingnewandground-breaking.Our research isbuiltwith theawareness that it ispre-ciselythroughnon-institutionalproductionsthatcontemporarythought,aswellasthe staging and dramatic principles slowly migrate into the institutional theatre.In1945,thenewgovernmentinCzechoslovakiadecidedtoestablishanewtheatre

house (theso-calledDedinskédivadlo [VillageTheatre]),whichaimedtopromotea new social order and its agricultural policy. The institution of several other theatre houseswasnotbigorhadstabileensemblebutnowitcanbeseenasimageofthattime.Thesituationcanbecomparedtotheestablishmentofassociationscalled“Svo-boda” and the accelerateddevelopment of amateur and semi-professional theatregroupsinSlovenia.PerhapsthemostsignificantmoveoftheSovietauthoritieswasthecapturingoftheSlovenskékomornédivadlo[SlovakChamberTheatre]7 in Mar-tinbyCzechoslovakiaPeople’sArmy.TheyrenamedittoArmádnedivadlo[ArmyTheatre], andused it to perform for themilitary,whichwas stationed in the city

6ThisstatementisregardedonlyforWestEuropeanandAmericanauthors.Inbothcountrieswecanfindsomedomesticauthorswhogrow from the traditionof theexistentialismorabsurd.Orwere theirfollowers.OnSlovakstageswecanfindsomePolishauthorsandagreatnumberofdomestic.Thesituationwas similar also in Slovenian theatres.

7Slovenskékomornédivadlowasfoundedin1944,thenrenamedinDivadloSlovenskéhonárodnéhopovstania)intheperiod1.1.–6.10.1951.ThenasmentionedbecameArmádnedivadlosince6.10.1951andagainDivadloSlovenskéhonárodnéhopovstaniasince1.9.1960.


(not only for Slovak, but also forCzech soldiers).8No such cases could be foundinSloveniaarea,butthereweresimilartrendsoftransformingtheatresratherthaneliminatethem.ThenetworkoftheatresinSloveniadidnotspreadexcessively(inthe1945someoftheamateurtheatrestransformedintoprofessionalorsemi-professionalones),exceptfortheestablishmentoftwoimportantinstitutionsinLjubljana(Mestnogledališčeljubljansko[LjubljanaCityTheatre,abbr.MGL],1951andSlovenskomla-dinskogledališče [SlovenianYouthTheatre,abbr.SMG],1955.Also, inaccordancewiththeideologicalconstructionofNovaGoricaonthewesternborderPrimorskodramskogledališče[Primorskodramatheatre,abbr.PDG],1955.Ontheotherhand,inthefiftiesthetheatresinPostojna(1954),Kranj(1957),Koper(1957)andPtuj(1958)wereabolished.Thesimilaritiesbetweenthetwosituationsarealsoreflectedintheartisticpro-

duction itself. It shouldbepointedout that the Slovenian theatreproductionwascaught in the aesthetics and practices derived from the socialist conception of art. However,duetolesspressurefromtheauthoritiesitwaslessexposedtodirectdicta-tions.Therefore,onlyaSlovaksourceisquotedhere:“After1948politics,notart,becamethemostimportantelementsintheatres.Sud-

denly,artisticintenthadtobedecidedbytheState(viaitsauthoritiesandorganiza-tions);thegovernmentnowassignedtheatrestheroleofarchitectsofsocialismandcarriersofthestateideology.Slovakstagesstartedtodepictthemeslikenationalisa-tion,transformationtocooperatives,orthebirthofthesocialistman.Butdespitetheincreaseinthenumberoftheatresandtheatrecompanies,noincreaseinthequalityofarttookplace–theatresstartedtoresembleoneanother,losingtheirartisticdis-tinctiveness.Stagesweredominatedbyuniformityandsocialistrealismbecametheonly allowed method of creation. Most theatre productions communicated the social-istideologyandthereforewerehighlyschematic,formalistanddogmatic.”9

Themostobviousdifferenceistheveryimageoftherepertoiresofrespectivethe-atres,asinSlovenia(regardlessofthemodelofself-management)directcensorshipdidnotoccurinsuchamannerasitdidinSlovakia:“Unnaturallyandcompulsorily,SlovaktheatrestartedtoinclinetowardstheSo-

vietmodel,mostlyindramaturgy,directionandacting.Thetotalitariancommunistregime(1950sand1960s)introducedcensorshipintheatrewhichtookoverthecon-trol of the repertory, bringing about an absence of freedom in artistic expression,which deformed the natural development of artistic creation”.10 TheturnawayfromtheSovietstructuresintheSlovaktheatrespacestartedatthe

end of the sixties. The situation was similar to the turn that happened after the In-formbiroaffairinSlovenia.Thetwosituationswereevenmorealikeinthesameperi-od,whennew(modern)theatreformsandgenres(mime,smallstagesform,musical,Slapstick,absurddramaandmodel)appeared.11Inthemeantime,Sloveniasawtheappearanceofneo-avant-gardeandexperimentaltheatregroups(whichhavetheir

8Formorerefer toMAŤAŠíK,Andrej. Theartisticandnon-artisticreasonsfor themanifestationsofgenerationalityinSlovaktheatreinthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury,p.87.

9ČIRIPOVÁ,Dáša(ed.).Theatre.sk – made in Slovakia.Bratislava :Divadelnýústav,2013,p.22. ISBN978-80-89369-61-4.

10Ibid,p.23.11Ibid.

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origininstudentgroups).Alongwithpoetryeventsandhappenings,theymarkeda whole generation of artists.

We will now discuss on the main performances of the Western European and Americanauthorsthatwereexceptionalasdramatictexts,stoodout,broughtnewperspectives on processes of creation into the artistic cultural space and were intro-spective of society. The selected examples are of prominent authors or of those that are outstanding in a world context.IfwecomparetherepertoiresofSloveniantheatresinthefortiesandfifties,we

cannotice some significant differences between them. First,when it comes to theauthorsfromtheWest(thecapitalistoriginandbeliefs),thebiggestdifferenceisinnotstaging(oratleaststagingamuchsmalleramountof)thetextsofSovietauthors,whowereconstantlypresent intheatres intheyearsafter the liberation.Themostcommonlystagedauthorswere1)AmericanplaywrightsArthurMiller,TennesseeWilliamsandEugeneO’Neill,2)FrenchplaywrightsJeanAnouilh,Jean-PaulSartreandAlbertCamus,3)representativesofanewborngenerationofangryyoungmensuchasJohnOsborne,4)playwrightsfromtheGerman-speakingenvironment:Ber-toltBrecht,FriedrichDürrenmattandMaxFrisch.IntheabsenceofdomesticfemaleauthorsanimportantplaceinthisperiodwastakenoverbyColetteAudryandLillianHellman. AdetailedanalysisofthetheatrerepertoiresintheSlovakpartofthenCzechoslo-

vakiaandofYugoslavia(moreprecisely:theSocialistRepublicofSlovenia),revealedamultitudeofsimilaritiesaswellasdifferences.Thesefindingsshowtheimageofthe theatre and the society of the period when the Cold War started and increasingly establishedthedivisionbetweentheEastandWest.FundamentalchangesintherepertoireofSlovenskénárodnédivadlo[TheSlovak

NationalTheatreinBratislava,abbr.SND]startedin1964.Atthattimemanyyoungandpromisingartistsjoinedensembleandartisticmanagement,ledbydirectorPavolHaspra“andintheirrepertoirethereappearedproductionswhichwouldhavebeenunimaginableafewyearsbefore,startingwithaplaybyArthurAdamovJar 71. roku [Spring71].”12 During this period there happened a multitude of modern staging of BertoltBrecht,FriedrichDürrenmatt,DarioFo,TennesseeWilliamsandothers.IfwedrawparallelswithSlovenskonarodnogledališčeDramaLjubljana[SlovenianNa-tionalTheatreDramaLjubljana,abbr.SNGDramaLjubljana](theonlyinstitutionintheSlovenetraditionwithapositioncomparabletoSNDinBratislava),thesituationinthe1960swassimilarlypro-Western.ThedirectorofSNGDramaLjubljanadur-ingtheseasons1961–1968/1969wasBojanŠtih,whowassignificantlyimportantforthe arrival of new principles of performing contemporary Slovenian plays and new Westernworksonthenationalstage.ThestagingofRhinocérosbyEugeneIonescoattheendoftheseason1960/1961,predictedrichrepertoiresforthefollowingseasonsthatbroughtplaysbyTennesseeWilliams,FriedrichDürrenmatt,JohnOsborne,MaxFrisch,EdwardAlbee,AlbertCamus,DarioFo,ArthurMillerandothers.

12MAŤAŠíK,Andrej.Theartisticandnon-artisticreasonsforthemanifestationsofgenerationalityinSlovaktheatreinthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury,p.90.


III.

Whencertainauthorsappearfrequently,reviewoftheperformancesoftheWest-ernEuropeanandAmericanauthorsonSlovenianandSlovakstagesisdividedbytheirnationality.However,caseswhereperformancesoccuronceorcouldbeunder-stoodasaphenomenon,arepresentedattheendofthischapter,irrespectiveoftheauthor’s nationality.

United Kingdom and United States

In the period after the SecondWorldWar, in addition to the already existingstrongpresenceofAnglo-Saxonplaywrights,Americandramabegantoemergemoreintensely.ThemostfrequentauthorswereTennesseeWilliamsandArthurMiller.OntheSlovenianstages,EugeneO’Neillremainedpopular,whileinSlovakiawenoteonly two stagings of his plays.

Tennesee Williams: Orpheus Descending.

Duša Počkaj (Carol Cutrere), Lojze Rozman

(Val Xavier). SNG Drama Ljubljana, premiered on

15 May 1960. Direction France Jamnik. Photo by Vlastja Simončič.

Slovenian Theatre Institute Archives.

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ThestrongpresenceofAmericanauthorsonSlovenianstagesmarkstheconsideredperiod, especially ifwe comparehowmuch contemporaryAmericanauthorshavebeenstagedaftertheindependencein1991.Asalreadystated,themainrepresenta-tives were Williams and Miller. Staging Williams followed: The Glass Menagerie(1953,MGL;1957,GledališčeKoper[KoperTheatre];1970,Akademijazagledališče,radio,film in televizijo [Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film andTelevision, abbr.AGRFT],A Streetcar Named Desire(1953,PrešernovogledališčeKranj[PrešerenTheatreKranj,abbr.PGK],Cat on a Hot Tin Roof(1958,DramaSNGMaribor;1965,MGL),The Rose Tat-too(1960,MGL),Orpheus Descending(1960,SNGDramaLjubljana),Sweet Bird of Youth (1961,SNGDramaLjubljana)andThe Night of the Iguana(1969,DramaSNGMaribor).OntheSlovakstageswealsotracedastrongpresenceofTennesseeWilliams:Or-

pheus Descending (1961,KrajovédivadloTrnava [RegionalTheatre,abbr.KDTrna-va];1964,ŠtátnedivadloKošice[StateTheatreKošice,abbr.ŠDKošice];1969,SNDBratislava), The Glass Menagerie (1961, Divadlo Slovenského národného povstaniaMartin [Theatre of SlovakNational Theatre, abbr.DSNPMartin]),The Rose Tattoo (1964,Divadlo JozefaGregoraTajovskéhoZvolen [GregorTajovskýTheatre, abbr.DJGTZvolen]),A Streetcar Named Desire(1964,SNDBratislava;1965,DivadloPetraJilemnickéhoŽilina[PeterJilemnickýTheatre,abbr.DPJŽilina]),Summer and Smoke (1966,ŠDKošice;1966,KrajovédivadloNitra [RegionalTheatre,abbr.KDNitra]),Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1966,DSNPMartin),This Property Is Condemned(1967,Vysokáškolamúzickýchumení[AcademyofPerformingArts,abbr.VŠMU]),27 Wagons Full

Tennessee Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire. Štefan Kvietik (Stanley), Viera Strnisková (Blanche). The Slovak National Theatre Drama ensemble, premiered on 28 November 1964. Photo by Jozef Vavro. The Slovak National Theatre archives.


of Cotton (1967,VŠMU),The Night of the Iguana(1968,DSNPMartin),Period of Adjust-ment(1968,DJGTZvolen)andKingdom on Earth(1970,KDNitra).In comparing the two lists, it isobvious that theSlovak stagingofWilliams is

presentedingreaterdiversity,whichcanalmostcertainlybeattributedtoagreaternumberofspectators.AttheatreinstitutionswecannoticecertainandspecificrisksintheWilliamspresenceintherepertoire.InSlovenia,theatreswererepeatingmostlythe same three plays: Streetcar Named Desire,Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and The Glass Me-nagerie.LikeWilliams,Miller’sdramasfocusedonintensivestaging.Thethemesofsocial

stratificationandthecharacteroftheordinaryman,hisroleinthewheelsofthesys-tem,wereplacedintheforefront,aswellasadirectcriticismofthesociety…Thesecharacteristics exist in socialist society on two levels: as a critic of capitalism and socialismandasself-reflectionorcriticismoftheWestwithitsownmedium.Mil-ler’s staged plays were: All my Sons(1950,SNGDramaLjubljana;1950,DramaSNGMaribor;1968,PDGNovaGorica),Death of a Salesman(1953,SNGDramaLjubljana;1961,DramaSNGMaribor; 1962,Slovensko ljudskogledališčeCelje [SlovenePeo-ple‘s Theatre Celje, abbr. SLG Celje]; 1963, Slovensko stalno gledališče [SlovenePermanent Theatre inTrieste, abbr. SSGTrieste]),The Crucible (1955, SNGDramaLjubljana;1965DramaSNGMaribor),A Memory of Two Mondays(1956,SNGDramaLjubljana),A View from the Bridge(1956,SNGDramaLjubljana),After the Fall(1965,SNGDramaLjubljana)andThe Price(1969,MGL).

Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot. Polde Bibič (Pozzo), Janez Albreht (Estragon), Stane Sever (Vladi-mir), Branko Miklavc (Lucky). SNG Drama Ljubljana, premiered on 13 January 1968. Direction France Jamnik. Photo by Marjan Pal. Slovenian Theatre Institute Archives.

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TheSlovaktheatresstagedArthurMillerinsimilarquantitiesasSlovenianthe-atres. This reflects not only its performative quality, but also local interest in thethemesandcontent,evenforthesocialistregimeoftheSoviettype.Thestagedplayswere: All my Sons(1949,SlovenskédivadloPrešov[SlovakTheatrePrešov,abbr.SDPrešov];1949,SNDBratislava),View from the Bridge (1959,SNDBratislava;1965,KDNitra; 1965, Maďarské oblastné divadlo Komárno [Hungarian Regional Theatre,abbr.MODKomárno]),Death of a Salesman (1960,ŠDKošice;1967,DSNPMartin),The Crucible (1962,KrajovédivadloSpišskáNováVes [RegionalTheatre,abbr.KDSpišskáNováVes];1963,KDNitra;1966,SNDBratislava;1968,MODKomárno),After the Fall(1964,SNDBratislava)andThe Price(1969,SNDBratislava).Inthetimelineofrepertoirestwotimegapsareparticularlynoticeable.Thefirstgapoccurredfrom1949to1959,withMillernotreappearinguntil1959afterhisplayAll my Sons was staged in 1949. The other gap lasted for a longer period: from the staging of The Price intheSNDBratislava(1969),ArthurMillerwasstagedagainbeforeCzechoslovakialeaving theUSSR,at theheightof the“VelvetRevolution”onDecember1st, 1989(DJGTZvolen),andthentwicemorein1991.

In the article Theatre productions by Western European authors and the 1950’s and Slo-venia: reception and responsewealreadydiscussedperformingJohnOsborneplaysinthe1950s.ForaparallelcomparisonwithSlovakculturalspace,theSlovenianstag-ingofOsbornewere:Look Back in Anger(1958,SNGDramaLjubljana;1966,AGRFT),Epitaph for George Dillon (1959,DramaSNGMaribor),Luther(1962,SNGDramaLju-bljana),Inadmissible Evidence(1966,MGL).InSlovakia,atthistime,theyperformed

Edward Albee: Everything in the Garden. In the front Eva Krížiková (Louise), Zdena Gruberová (Cynthia), František Dibarbora (Perry). The Slovak National Theatre Drama ensemble, premiered on 7 February 1970. Photo by Jozef Vavro. The Slovak National Theatre archives.


only one: Look Back in Anger(1967,SNDBratislava).Wesupposethattheperformancehappened in the “Prague spring” spirit.Thestarofpost-warAmericandramaandfounderoftheAmericanabsurddrama

EdwardAlbeewasonSlovenianstagespresentedby:The American Dream(1963,SNGDramaLjubljana),Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf(1964,SNGDramaLjubljana),The Zoo Story(1966,AGRFT),A Delicate Balance(1969,SNGDramaLjubljana)andEverything in the Garden(1969,MGL;1970,DramaSNGMaribor)InSlovakia:The Zoo Story(1964,Divadlopoézie[PoetryTheatre],Bratislava;1964,DPJŽilina),Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf(1965,SNDBratislava)andEverything in the Garden(1970,SNDBratislava).AsurprisingfactfromSlovenianandSlovakstagesoftheanalysedperiodisthe

extraordinaryfrequencyofstagingtheworksofBritishplaywrightGeorgeBernardShaw.Thiscanbeattributedtohispoliticaldisengagement,aswellasthecontinuityandpredictabilityinplaywriting.Asawriterofcomediesthatfocusedonpointingouttheanomaliesofbourgeoissociety was popular among the audience and at the authoritiesthatdidn’trecognisehimasproblematicinfluence.Hisdeclared“social-ist”political orientationdefinitelyhelped.But in the selectionofWestern authorsintherepertoires,werecognizehispresencemoreasanabnormalityandbarelyasaconceptualartistorauthorofmoderndramawithastronginfluenceonthedevel-opment on the domestic arts.StagingtheplaywrightLillianHellmanisparticularlyinteresting,duetothegen-

eral lackof femaleauthors.Thenumberofperformances inSlovakia (10)deviatessignificantly fromtheSlovenian (3),whereherwritingseemedtogarner insignifi-cant interest. The deviation is recorded also with the staging of plays of Norman Krasna,whichappearedthreetimesinSlovakiaandninetimesinSlovenia.Statis-ticallyspeaking, JohnBoyntonPriestleywasextremelydesirableonstages inbothnations.IntheSlovakrepertoires,hehadeightperformancesandinSloveniahehadeleven.SimilartoG.B.Shaw,weconsiderPriestley’sdramaticarttobethematicallyunmovingandlesspowerful.Theseexamplesarerepresentedonlylikeinformation,whichshowsastrongpresenceofAnglo-SaxonandAmericancreativityinCentralEuropean space.

German-speaking area

DuringthedecadesaftertheSecondWorldWarFriedrichDürrenmattwasamongthe more popular staged authors in Central Europe. In the Slovenian theatre was most staged in the sixties: Der Besuch der alten Dame ([TheVisit]1958,MGL;1960,SNGDramaMaribor),Romulus der Grosse ([Romulus theGreat]1962,SNGDramaLjubljana),Die Phyziker ([The Physicists] 1963, SNGDramaLjubljana),Der Meteor ([TheMeteor]1966,MGL)andDie Wiedertäufer([TheAnabaptists]1968,MGL).InthesametimewindowinSlovakiawenotedevenmoreperformancesofDür-

renmatt:Die Phyziker([ThePhysicists]1963,SNDBratislava;1963,DivadloJonášaZá-borskéhoPrešov[JonášZáborskýTheatrePrešov,abbr.DJZPrešov];1964,KDTrnava;1969,ŠDKošice),Frank der Fünfte([FranktheFifth]1963,DPJŽilina),Herkules und der Stall das Augias([HerculesandtheAugeanStables]1963,SNDBratislava),Nächtliche Gaspräch mit einem verachteten Menschen ([NocturnalConversationwithaDespisedPerson]1964,Divadlopoézie[PoetryTheatre],Bratislava;1964,DPJŽilina),Der Be-such der alten Dame[TheVisit]1965,ŠDKošice;1965,NováscénaBratislava[TheNew

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Stage theatre,abbr.NSBratislava]),Abendstunde im Spätherbst ([EpisodeonanAu-tumnEvening]1966,Divadlopoézie[PoetryTheatre],Bratislava),Der Doppelgänger ([TheDouble]1966,Divadlopoézie[PoetryTheatre],Bratislava)andDer Meteor([TheMeteor]1967,NSBratislava).DürrenmattplayswerecomingtoSlovenianandSlovakstagesshortlyorrelative-

lysoonafterthepublishedreleaseorpremiereperformance.OnesuchexampleisThe PhysicistswhichpremieredinZürichin1962,whilebeingsimultaneouslypublishedatDieArche,apublishinghouse.Thetimeintervalwasgreaterforotherplays,forexample: The Visitwaspublishedin1958andstagedtwoyearslaterattheLjubljanaCityTheatre;itwaslaterstagedinKošiceandBratislavain1965.Thetheatreartistsalsointerferedwithhisothertexts,while inSloveniaagreatpartofhis lateropushasstillnotbeenstaged(playswrittenafter1968).Dürrenmatt’sdramasfocusedonsatire,ridicule,andanalysisofpost-warEuropeansociety.Byestablishingastrongpoliticalcontext,hisworkenabledtheindividual,differentviewofthestateofmindin the socialist state and theatre.

Another interesting example is the staging of the Swiss playwright Max Frisch. HedidnotreachDürrenmatt’spopularity,buthewasatthesametimerepresent-edonthestagesofbothnations.FrischbeganplaywritingattheendoftheSecondWorldWar.Despitehissignificantopus,theSloveniantheatrehistoryrecordsonlythree staged texts: Biedermann und die Brandstiefter([TheFireRaisers]1959,MGL),An-dorra(1962,SNGDramaLjubljana;1963,SLGCelje;1963,DramaSNGMaribor),and

Bertolt Brecht: Mother Courage and her Children. Drama SNG Maribor, premiered on 28 April 1962. Di-rection Fran Žižek. Photo by Mirko Japelj. Slovenian Theatre Institute Archives.


Don Juan oder Die Liebe zur Geometrie ([DonJuandandTheLoveofGeometry]1965,MGL).EvenonSlovakstages,enthusiasmofFrisch’sdramaticcreativityisnotno-ticed,whereonlythreeperformanceswererecorded:Andorra(1963,ŠDKošice;1965,VŠMU),Don Juan oder Die Liebe zur Geometrie([DonJuandandTheLoveofGeometry]1964,NSBratislava])andDie grosse Wut des Philipp Hotz([TheGreatRageofPhilippHotz]1967,DivadelnéštúdioBratislava([TheatreStudioBratislava]).Butwenoticedthesamealmostaten-yeargapbetweenthe dramaswerewrittenandstagedinSlo-vakiaorSlovenia(partiallysimilarwithDürrenmatt).AsexceptionwemustexposeAndorra(1961),hisonlystageddramafromthe1960s.Otherremainingstagedtextswere created in the early 1950s: in Biedermann und die Brandstiefter ([TheFireRaisers]1953), Don Juan oder Die Liebe zur Geometrie([DonJuandandTheLoveofGeometry]1953) and Die grosse Wut des Philipp Hotz ([TheGreatRageofPhilippHotz]1956).OfsignificantnotehereisthatMaxFrisch’splaysareconsideredtobemoreengag-ingandhavingaclearpoliticalpositionthanDürrenmatt’splays.Wecouldsaytheywereevenmoremodern(hispoeticsisclosertoBrecht),thesefactscouldbebehindthereasonwhythestagingcomparedwithDürrenmattwasonsuchlowerdensity.ButstagingbothauthorsprobablyhadareasonintheirscriticallydistancetowardsGermannationalismandnacism,sotheywerepopularinbothcountriesandinEastGermany(DeutscheDemokratischeRepublik).ItmaybesurprisingthatBertoltBrechtisincludedintheshortlistofGerman-

speakingplaywrights.AresidentofEasternGermany,Brechtshould,atleastbecauseofhispoliticalorientationandactivism,beamongthemorefeaturedcontemporaryauthorsoftheperiod.Thiswasnotthecase,however,ashisperformancesoccurredjustas frequentlyasotherstagedWesternauthors.Hismost important textswerewrittenbefore theSecondWorldWar, frommoderntextswerestaged:Schweyk im Zweiten Weltkrieg ([Schweik in the SecondWorldWar] 1941 – 1943/1957) andDer kaukasische Kreidekreis([TheCaucasianChalkCircle]1943–1945/1948).Thus,inourchosenperioduntil1970, inthetheatres inbothcountrieswecancount13perfor-mances: Schweyk im Zweiten Weltkrieg([SchweikintheSecondWorldWar]1958,SNGDramaLjubljana;1967,SLGCelje),Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti ([MrPuntilaandhisManMatti]1956,DramaSNGMaribor;1964,MGL;1962,DJGTZvolen;1963,DJZPrešov;1963,SNDBratislava),Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder([MotherCourageandherChildren]1962,DramaSNGMaribor),Leben des Galilei ([LifeofGalileo]1959,AGRFT;1960,SLGCelje;1958,SNDBratislava),Der kaukasische Kreidekreis([TheCau-casianChalkCircle]1957,SNGDramaLjubljana;1963,KDTrnava),Der gute Mensch von Sezuan([TheGoodPersonofSzechwan]1956,MGL;1962,SNDBratislava;1964,DramaSNGMaribor).OnSlovakstageswefoundtwotextsthatnothaveSlovenianperformance: Die Verurteilung des Lukullus([TheTrialofLucullus]1962,SNDBratisla-va) and Die Frau der Gewehr Carrara([SeñoraCarrar’sRifles]1962,VŠMU).ItisimportanttoemphasizethatmostperformancesofBrechttookplaceinLju-

bljana(7of13)orBratislava(8of13),whiletheotherperformancesoccurredinintheatresacrossthecountries.Therewasstrongcentralizationinbothcountries,es-pecially when we focus on performing Western European or American playwrights. Brechtishighlightedheretoasanexample.Suchcentralizationlikelyoccurredbe-cause of the pronounced intellectual structure that was gathered in the capitals and inthepopulationsize.Thisallowedgreaterfluidityinthedisseminationof(largelypro-Western)newideasandconcepts.Toconfirmthishypothesis,wecouldanalyse

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availableaudience informationanddata for individualperformancebyauthors indifferenttheatrehouses,howeverwecannotpursuesuchanalysisforthisarticle.

French authors

By far the largest gapbetween the theatreproductions of the two countries isreflectedinthestagingoftheFrenchdrama,especiallytheexistentialistplays.Stag-ingofAlbertCamusinSlovenia:La Peste([ThePlague]1955,DramaSNGMaribor),Les Justes ([The JustAssassins]1956,MGL),Caligula (1963,SNGDramaLjubljana),Le Malentendu ([TheMisunderstanding] 1960, SLGCelje; 1967,MGL) andLes Pos-sédés ([The Possessed] 1970,MGL). In Slovakia, only the staging ofLe Malentendu ([The Misunderstanding] 1967, SND Bratislava) and adaptation of the WilliamFaulkner‘snovelRequiem for a Nun([Requiempourunenone]1966,DSNPMartin)byCamus were performed.Sloveniantheatreartistsshowedanevenstrongeraffinitytodramaticworks(and

philosophy)ofJeanPaulSartre.InthetwodecadesaftertheSecondWorldWarele-venofhisplayswerestagedthere,whileinSlovakiaonlyfourperformancesoccurredand one play remained unproduced (Les Mains sales[DirtyHands]).Itisunderstand-ablethatthefollowingproductionsdominatedinSlovenia:Huis-Clos([NoExit]1958,

Albert Camus: Caligula. Štefka Drolc (Casonia), Andrej Kurent (Caligula). SNG Drama Ljubljana, premiered on 14 October 1963. Direction Andrej Hieng. Photo by Vlastja Simončič. Slovenian Theatre Institute Archives.


1969) and Les Mains sales([DirtyHands]1962,1964and1966).Wecanalsofindpro-ductions of La Putain respectueuse([TheRespectfulProstitute]1954,PGK;1960,SNGNovaGorica),Les Séquestrés d’Altona ([TheCondemnedofAltona]1960,MGL),Les Mouches([TheFlies]1961,AGRFT),Le Diable et le Bon Dieu([TheDevilandtheGoodLord]1965,SNGDramaLjubljana)andMorts sans sépulture([TheVictors]1969,SLGCelje).TheSlovakperformanceswere:Les Séquestrés d’Altona ([TheCondemnedofAltona]1962,DNSPMartin;1970,MODKomárno),Huis-Clos([NoExit]1963,VŠMU)and Le Diable et le Bon Dieu([TheDevilandtheGoodLord]1965,SNDBratislava).Thedifferencescanbeseenatthefirstsight,unfortunatelyourresearchdoesnothavetime for further interpretations of the situation. ThetotalnumberofperformancesbyJeanAnouilhonSlovenianstagesdepends

on the selection. His creativity extended from various genres from drama to opera andplays forchildrenoryouth.The totalnumberof theperformanceswas17,15of thesewereplays foradultaudiences.Thatnumbermakeshimthemost stagedWestern author of this period. From his extensive dramatic opus various texts were performedandmostofthemrarelystagedtwice.InSlovakiathereweresevenperfor-mances of Anouilh: La Sauvage([TheRestlessHeart]1947,ŠDKošice),Le Voyageur sans

Jean-Paul Sartre: The Devil and the Good Lord.

Ctibor Filčík (Goetz), Martin Gregor (The

Banker). The Slovak National Theatre Drama

ensemble, premiered on 18 December 1965. Photo by Jozef Vavro. The Slovak National

Theatre archives.

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bagage([TravellerwithoutLuggage]1964,DJZPrešov),Le Bal des Voleurs([Thieves’Carnival]1966,KDNitra),L’Invitation au château([InvitationtotheCastle]1968,NSBratislava),L’Orchestre([TheOrchestra]1968,DivadelnéštúdioBratislava([TheatreStudioBratislava])andL’Alouette ([TheLark]1969,NSBratislava).Dramaticcreat-ivitybyJeanAnouilhisespeciallyinteresting,becauseofhisslowpassagefromtheexistentialismtowardstheabsurdovertheyears.Inawaythatisalsosimilartothetransformation of the general poetics in some cultural traditions. In the French dra-maticliterature,forexample,existentialistauthors(Sartre,Camusandothers)wereeventuallyreplacedbyIonesco,AdamovandGenet.IntheSlovenianareawehavemetagreatfascinationwithdramaandphilosophyofexistentialism,whichwaslaterpartiallytransformedandcoexistedwiththedramaoftheabsurd(primarilythroughperformance,thenintheSloveniandrama).ItisclearthatAnouilh’splaysfellundera similar development as the dramas and theatre arts in the Slovenian space. Such development couldnothavehappened in theSlovak spaceat suchextent.This ismostlybecausewedidnotfindsuchstrongpresenceoftheexistentialismortheab-surddrama,atleastnotinthewaywenotedinSlovenianartspace.

Outstanding phenomena

In theselectedculturalcontextssomeauthorsparticularlystandout, includingthose who never made it to the canon.Theexamplethatattractstheattentionattheverybeginningofstudyingreper-

toires,isthestagingofthetextofSimonedeBeauvoirLes bouches inutiles[TheUselessMouth],whichwasperformedintheSNDBratislavaattheendof1947,justbeforethe Soviet Union completely ruled the country. Another special phenomenon is the DutchauthorHansTiemeijerwithhisdramaDe Zaak A. D. in 1954 (season 1953 – 1954and1954–1955)withfiveperformances(SLGCelje,MestnogledališčePtuj[PtujCityTheatre,abbr.MGPtuj],PGKandSSGTrieste),whileintheSlovakrepertoirehedid not appear. There was a reverse situation with the French author Armand Sala-crou,whoselaterworkswereclassedasFrenchexistentialism.OntheSlovakstageshe only appeared with the text Une Femme trop honnête[AWomanTooHonest]from1953(1964,NSBratislava;1964,KDTrnava).Ontheotherhand,SalacroustagedfivetimesintheSloveniantheatresinthefifties.AnotheroutstandingexampleistheBra-zilianplaywrightGuilhermeFigueiredo(1915–1997),whowasstagedwithsixper-formancesinawidenetworkofinstitutionsinSlovakia(DPJŽilina,SNDBratislava,DJZPrešov,DSNPMartin,etc.),andwasnotrecordedontheSlovenianrepertoires.Aspecialchaptershouldbedevotedto(not)stagingofthemostprominentplay-

wrightsoftheabsurddrama:SamuelBeckettandEugèneIonesco.Weunderstandthemasexamplesofslow(butreal)culturalandpracticalinfluencepassedfromtheWest.ThefirstperformancesBeckett’splaysintheSlovenianspacewereWaiting for Godot and Krapp’s Last Tape(bothstagedinSSGTriestein1966),butthatwaspracti-callyincapitalism,ontheothersideoftheborder.Beforethat,theKrapp’s Last Tape wasperformed in SLGCelje (1963) andWaiting for Godot later on in Drama SNG Ljubljana(1968).Duringthe1960sHappy Days(1965,SNDBratislava)andWaiting for Godot(1968,Divadlonakorze,Bratislava[TheatreonthePromenade])werestagedinSlovakia.AfterwardsSamuelBeckettwasnotstagedonSlovakstagesuntil1990,whichwecanassigntothepoliticalcensorshipofthetheatreofabsurd.Mostlybe-


cause of the way in which it resonated in the Eastern Europe: as a political drama and a criticism of the undemocratic regimes. A similar situation also occurred with the stagingofEugèneIonescoplays.WhilehismainworksLa Leçon([TheLesson]1958),La Cantatrice Chauve([TheBaldPrimaDonna]1958),Les Chaises([TheChairs]1960),Rhinocéros ([Rhinoceros]1961),La Soif et la faim([HungerandThirst]1967)andLe Roi se meurt([ExittheKing]1970)werestagedonSlovenianstagesinthe1960s,onlytwostagingsoccurred in theSlovaktheatrespace:A tant qu’on veut ([AndtheSametoYou]1967)andintheyear1964,whentheeveningofpiecesfromtheworksofworldandSlovakauthorstookplaceinDivadlopoézie[PoetryTheatre]inBratislava.Therewerenostaginguntiltheyear1991,similartothecaseofBeckett.

At this point we should point out that one of the main authors of the theatre of theabsurdArthurAdamov,appearedonlyonceinSlovenianandSlovakstage,notonlyintheselectedtimeperiod,butalsountilthepresent.HisdramaLe Printemps ’71 [Spring’71]wasstagedintheSNDBratislava(1962)andintheDramaSNGLjubljana(1964).Itiscertainlyaninterestingphenomenon,atleastaccordingtohispositionintheworldclassicalliteratureandalsotohismajorinnovationinplaywriting.Expectedly, themost stagedSpanishplaywrightwasFedericoGarcíaLorca. In

Slovakiahewaspresentedwithtenperformances(inSloveniabyseven, includingtheperformancesatSlovenskomladinskogledališče[TheSlovenianYouthTheatre]).FollowedbythequitepopularauthorAlejandroCasona.Hisworkshadnineperfor-

Fernando Arrabal: The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria. Janez Hočevar (Architect). SNG Drama Ljubljana, premiered on 20 December 1968. Direction Jurij Souček. Photo by Marjan Pal. Slovenian The-atre Institute Archives.

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mancesinSlovakia,andonlyfourinSlovenia.AndeventhenalltheSloveneperfor-mances were his family drama Los árboles mueren de pie[TreesDieonTheirFeet].ThedifferencecanalsobeobservedatthestagingoftheSpanishabsurdistFernan-

doArrabal.InSloveniantheatrehewasstagedthreetimes,including: Picnic (1962), Le tricycle([TheTricycle]1968)andL’architecte et l’empereur d’Assyrie (1968,[TheArchi-tectandtheEmperorofAssyria]).HehasnotbeenstagedinSlovakiaintheselectedperiod.ThisalsooccurredwiththepostmodernGermanplaywrightTankredDorst,whowasnotstagedinSlovakia,buthadtwoperformancesinSlovenia(bothtimes:Die Grosse Schmährede an der Stadtmauer[GrandTiradeattheTownHall]).AnothersuchexampleisthenoticeableIrishauthorBrendanBehan.HisAn Giall[TheHos-tage]wasstagedonthestageofSNGDramaLjubljanain1963,despitethefactthathewasanIrishrepublican.Whenhesuddenlydiedayearlater,themembersoftheIrishRepublicanArmyweremarchingbyhiscoffin(whichcouldbehisadvantagefor Slovenian authorities). ThehistoricaltraditionandgeographicalreasonspartiallylinkSloveniantheatre

space to the Italian production and theatre practise. The Italian authors were relative-lyfrequentlyselectedfortherepertoires,especiallyontheWesternborderandinSSGTrieste.MostoftheperformanceswerebyLuigiPirandello,whereascontemporarydramacouldbefoundinsomeseasons.TheSlovaktheatreshadfewercontemporaryItaliandramas,exceptforPirandello,probablybecauseofnodirectcontactwiththecountry.InSloveniaUgoBettiappearedfivetimes,andonlyonceinSlovakiawithhispopular Delitto all’isola dell capre[CrimeonGoatIsland].DarioFo,asthemostpromi-nentrepresentativeofthecontemporaryItaliandramawasstagedinaSlovaktheatreonce in 1963 with Gli Archangeli non giocano al flipper[ArchangelsDon’tPlayPinbal](performed twice in Slovenia in 1962 and 1963) and Pistole con gli occhi bianchi e neri [HeHadTwoWhiteandBlackEyedGuns]inSSGTriestein1964.

The two giants of modern British drama experienced a similar situation. Their first stagingonSlovenianandSlovakian stagehappenedat thebeginningof theirartisticpath.First,HaroldPinter’sThe Homecoming (1967) and The Caretaker (1970) were staged in Slovene theatres,whereasThe Lover (1966),The Homecoming (1968) and The Caretaker(1970)wereperformedinSlovakia.Second,TomStoppardhadoneperformanceofhistexts,bothtimesin1969withhisbreakthroughtextRosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead(LjubljanaandMartin).Third,PeterShafferwhobeganhiscareerasaplaywrightinthefiftiesandappearedinSlovakiawithhisBlack Comedy (four times). In the Slovenian theatres he was staged twice with his plays The Private Ear and The Public Eye and once with the Black Comedy.Itshouldbenotedthatregard-lessof theageandworkof these threeauthors, theirpresence in the repertoire isaphenomenon,sincetheystrikeabroadasyoung(notyetestablished)authors.In therepertoirewecanfindmanymoreexamplesofencounterswithmodern

westernplaywriting.Wehavealreadyreviewedsomeof thebestexamples in thisarticle;othernoteworthyplaywrightsofthisperiodinclude:HellaWuolijokiNiska-vuoren naiset([WomenonNiskavuori)1953,SSGTrieste),ArhurKopitOh dad, poor dad, mamma’s hung you in the closet and I’m feelin’ so sad inbothcountries. It isalsoimportant to mention staging the plays of Jean Genet at the end of the sixties. All our examplesshowthatcultural spaceswerefluidandopen towardswestern innova-tions in the playwriting and contemporary themes.


Synthesis

AfterreviewingperformancesinSlovakiaandSloveniathefollowinglogicalcon-clusionisoffered.WhenwethinkabouttheperformancesoftheWesternEuropeanandAmericanauthors therewerenomajordifferencesbetweenSlovakandSlove-nianproduction,exceptforsomespecialcaseswementioned.Thesimilarityofthesocialist(one-party)systemsiscrucial,becauseeach,intheirownway,regulatedthetheatreproductionandbalancedtherepertoire.Theatreproduction inCentralEu-ropefindsitselfinasimilarsituation.Astrongindicatoristhatthenon-democraticsystemsaftertheSecondWorldWarworkedfromthesamestartingpointinculturalpolicy,despiteapro-Westernorientation inYugoslavia.Some fundamentaldiffer-enceshavebeenanalysedinthisarticle,butadditionalanalysisisneeded.Namely,a review of the critical receptions of the selected Western European and American playwrightsshouldrevealdifferencesorsimilaritiesbetweentwocountries/nations.Suchareviewwouldprovidetheinsightintotheactualpositionofofficialtheatrecriticandevenperformingconcepts(howithadbeenstaged,forexample).Theimportanceofthemessageofatheatreperformancemustbejudgedinthe

perspective of time and space in which it was created. Undemocratic systems could regulate aprogressivemessage,but asdiscussed in this article, certainauthorsortexts had greater success in expressing their message(s) and achieving a higher level ofidentification,andsometimesevenmobilization.

A comparative study of two theatrical situations reveals the similarities and dif-ferencesbetweenbothcultures.Wehavesetahistorictimeandtriedtoidentifyit,placed it into theatre practice and repertoire creation. We found that there were some substantivedifferences(performingtheexistentialistdramaandthedramatheab-surd),aswellasmajorsimilarities,whichprovesthattheCentralEuropeanculturalspaceismuchmorehomogeneous,evenatatimewhentheSlovaktheatrewaslo-cated on the eastern side of the iron curtain.

Translated by the author

RokAndresUniversity of Nova GoricaVipavskacesta135000NovaGorica,[email protected]

the repertoires of slovak and slovenian … repertoires of slovak and slovenian theatre houses and...

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