The Art of Acting Up: Johann Friedrich Löwen and the Genesis of German Theatre Historiography

Abstract

Johann Friedrich Löwen is generally considered to have written the first history of the German theatre, though scholars rarely discuss his role as a historian and are typically drawn instead to his program for establishing a national theatre. This article will examine his contributions to the historiography of the German theatre in the eighteenth century. His Geschichte des deutschen Theaters represents a substantial break in how German theatre historiography was written and conceptualized, as he favoured an actor-centred narrative instead of a catalogue of plays and playwrights, setting genre trends that would be felt for decades. In a move unexpected for a dedicated reformer of the theatre, however, Löwen depicts the history of German actors in a resoundingly negative light. Such an approach reveals that Löwen views the creation of historical narratives not only as a means for recording the past, but also for attesting to the urgency of theatre reform.