Fascism and Theatre

Comparative Studies on the Aesthetics and Politics of Performance in Europe, 1925-1945

Günter Berghaus

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Year: 1996
• Print ISBN:
  9781571819017
  9781571818775
• eBook ISBN:
  9781785330476
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Mezzi di comunicazione e arti performative
• Subtopic: Seconda guerra mondiale

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.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. Staging the Nation's Rebirth
• Chapter 2. The Cultural Politics of Fascist Governments
• Chapter 3. The Ritual Core of Fascist Theatre
• Chapter 4. The Theatre of Politics in Fascist Italy
• Chapter 5. The Organisation, Fascistisation and Management of Theatre in Italy, 1925 - 1943
• Chapter 6. Theatre Politics of the Mussolini Regime and Their Influence on Fascist Drama
• Chapter 7. Mussolini's 'Theatre of the Masses'
• Chapter 8. Censorship in Nazi Germany
• Chapter 9. The Municipal Theatre in Frankfurt-on-the-Main
• Chapter 10. The Orchestration of the National Community
• Chapter 11. The Theatre Aesthetics of the Falange
• Chapter 12. Theatre and Falangism at the Beginning of the Franco Regime
• Chapter 13. Competing Together in Fascist Europe
• Chapter 14. Jacques Copeau and 'Popular Theatre' in Vichy France
• Chapter 15. Towards an Aesthetic of Fascist Opera
• Bibliography
• Illustrations
• Notes on Contributors
• Index