German Theatre: Reporter: Jared Jane G. Maglente

GERMAN
THEATRE
Reporter: Jared Jane G. Maglente
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The production of theatre art continues under

the most severe circumstances, even under
dictatorships. Theatrical activity, then, did not
cease after Hitler took power. It is vital,
however, when considering theatre
performance by Jews during the Shoah to use
a broad definition of ‘theatrical activity,’ given
the repressive German state policy which
turned to genocide against the Jews.
When it all started?
The first performance held in Germany

theatre happened in 1634. Being one of
the most famous passion plays in the
world, “The Oberammergauer Passion
play” is still staged every ten years and to
this day attracts thousands of visitors. It
impacted German theatre greatly.
German Theatre off to a Rough Start
Even though German theatre ends up

becoming one of the best types of theatre to
experience, it didn’t get off on the right foot.
In the late 16th century, other countries like
England and France took over Germany in
the theatre world due to a lack of
appropriate cities to host such a vast
theatre life.
Germany still managed to stay
present throughout the 17th and 18th
century though. Theatre was
practiced by groups of actors who
were still extremely passionate
about their work.
However, still during this
time, the impact it was
leaving was not large
enough to sustain a great
reputation.
German Theatre Transforms from
late 18th century into 19th century
German Theatre finally obtained

the public impact it had been
waiting for. This was due to
French and Italian theatre taking
a step back and German theatre
taking its place.
Hamburg, Mannheim,
Dusseldorf, Dresden, Leipzig,
Frankfurt, Cologne, and Munich
are major cities that made an
impact in German theatre.
Start of the 19 century
th
Vienna had the most diverse

theatre culture but Berlin quickly
took over. It became the center
of theatrical life and then later
became the capital of Germany.
Surprisingly, German
theatre got very
popular after the first
World War.
Even though the World War affected
German Society, German was not
unprepared to apply this crisis to the
theatre world. The drama the war
displayed had allowed productions to
be create filled with drama portraying
what had been going on.
These shows began in the beginning of
the twentieth century and are
considered to be plays that were
performed during a crucial time for
Germany. These shows allowed
German theatre to continue even
though the country was in a large crisis.
Seeing as German theatre
had to work hard to earn its
spot, the audience has
become the most crucial part
to German theatre.
• Without the audience constantly
supporting the shows that were able
to be performed, there would have
been no growth. Of course the actors
at this time became very passionate
about their work, meaning their effort
isn’t unnoticed.
However, the audience and the
people of the land took well to
what German theatre was trying
to do and that support was the
driving factor in keeping theatre
alive in Germany.
Popular Figures in each
Century
18th century: Lessing,

Goethe, and Schiller. They
play a role in the development
of theatre and aid in the
growth of a realistic theatre.
19th century: Wagner and
the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.
Their works helped with the
development of a realistic
scenography.
20th century: Reinhardt and
Brecht.
They were the most
prominent figures in this
century.
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
• He was a German writer,

philosopher, dramatist,
publicist and art critic,
and one of the most
outstanding
representatives of the Enlightenment era.
• His plays and theoretical writings
substantially influenced the development
of German literature.
Wilhelm Richard Wagner
• Was a German composer,

theatre director, polemicist,
and a conductor who is
chiefly known for his operas
(or, as some of his later
works were later known,
“music dramas.”)
Bertolt Brecht
• Eugen Berthold
Friedrich Brecht
(10 February 1898-
14 August 1956), known
professionally as Bertolt
Brecht, was a German
theatre practitioner,
playwright, and a poet.
Theatre today
Germany holds one

thing important to its
theatre culture and
that’s opera.
Opera
Is a form of theatre in which music has a
leading role and the parts are taken by
singers.
 The performance is typically given in an
opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or
smaller musical ensemble, which since the
early 19th century has been led by a
conductor.
Opera has arguably been more
present in German theatre than
in any other country. Opera has
allowed for improvement in
scenic innovation.
Opera within Germany has been
considered the most extreme form
of opera due to its constant push
on the art. There is always new
staging being done and the shows
are consistent and frequent.
SAMPLE PLAYS
• Miss Sara Sampson is a play by the

Enlightenment philosopher, Gotthold
Ephraim Lessing. Written in 1755
while the author was living in
Potsdam, it is seen by many scholars
to be one of the first bourgeois
tragedies.
• Rienzi, der letzte der Tribuunen (Rienzi,
the last of the tribunes) is an early opera
by Richard Wagner. The title is commonly
shortened to Rienzi, written between July
1838 and November 1840, it was first
performed at the Konigliches Hoftheatre,
Dresden, on 20 October 1842, and was
the composer’s first success.
-The opera is set in Rome and is
based on the life of Cola di Rienzi
(1313-1354), a late medieval Italian
populist figure who succeeds in
outwitting and then defeating the
nobles and their followers and in
raising the power of the people.
• Mother Courage and Her Children is a play
written in 1939 by the German dramatist and
poet Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), with significant
contributions from Margarete Steffin.
• Mother courage is considered by some to be
the greatest play of the 20th century, and
perhaps also the greatest anti-war play of all
time.
COSTUMES
THEMES OF THE PLAY
• Realism (late 18th century) in the theatre was

a general movement that began in the 19th-
century theatre, around the 1870s, and
remained preset through much of the 20th
century.
• It developed a set of dramatic and theatrical
conventions with the aim of bringing a greater
fidelity of real life to texts and performances.
• Naturalism (19th century) is a movement in
European drama and theatre that
developed in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries.
• It refers to theatre that attempts to create
an illusion of reality through a range of
dramatic and theatrical strategies.
• Expressionism is a modernist movement
in drama and theatre that developed in
Europe (principally Germany) in the early
decades of the 20th century and later in
the United States. It forms part of the
broader movement of Expressionism in
the arts.
• Expressionist plays often dramatize the
spiritual awakening and sufferings of their
protagonists and are referred to as
Stationendramen (station dramas),
modeled on the episodic presentation of
the suffering and death of the suffering
and death of Jesus in the stations of the
Cross.
• Expressionism focused
on the inner qualities of
the protagonist (and
humanity)

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GERMAN

The production of theatre art continues under

The first performance held in Germany

Even though German theatre ends up

German Theatre finally obtained

Vienna had the most diverse

18th century: Lessing,

• He was a German writer,

• Was a German composer,

Germany holds one

• Miss Sara Sampson is a play by the

• Realism (late 18th century) in the theatre was

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