Revisiting the Anthropo(S)Cene: Theatrical Practices Beyond the Human Stage?

Abstract

This article outlines the specifically modern understanding of an anthroposcenic theatre by (among others) referring to August Wilhelm Iffland’s concept of the “Menschendarsteller” and takes a closer look at Max Herrmann’s article “Das theatralische Raumerlebnis”. As I will show in my reading of Herrmann’s now canonical text, the early discourse of theatre studies not only reproduces the anthroposcenic dispositive of theatre but also already hints at its limits and the breaking up of the closed and privileged scene of the Anthropos. The article tries to show how, by asking and focusing the question of space and theatrical transformation, while still focusing on the human actor, his actions and the mimetic relationship between actor and audience, Herrmann decenters and denaturalizes the anthropocentric, universalized, and naturalized framings of theatre. Article received: December 12, 2021; Article accepted: February 1, 2022; Published online: April 15, 2022; Original scholarly article