Theater im Medienzeitalter: Das postdramatische Theater von Elfriede Jelinek und Heiner Müller by Dagmar Jaeger

Abstract

MLR, 104.1, 2009 279 tweenthelinguistic and the non-linguistic, forthesubject whowitnessesisdivided betweenthesilent partand the partthatspeaks, which isitself then dependent on aesthetic devices,particularly metaphor,fortheprocessof transmission. Finally, Leahy spirals her way back toBachmann to argue that Malina shows the absence at thecentre of representation: 'Grundiswhat iswithheldinevery representation' (emphasisinoriginal).Sheconcludesthat'thestate ofbeingsuspendedinshockis notan interruption intransmission and temporality ... .]butrather, the very norm of modern life'(p.224). Thissummary doesno justicetothescopeofLeahy'sbookand thedegreeofher intellectual ambition, forrunningthrough thetextisalso an ongoingattempt to think abouttherelationship of the modern tothe postmodern. Thisbook is worth thehardwork,foritisstimulating whetherornot thereaderagrees withLeahy's readings, but I was glad to have Leahy's own summary of her argument in the preface, forfrequently itbecameunclear(to me) inthe main chapters. Ihavecertain reservations. Thebook istootheory-heavy inrelation tothe varied concerns explored byBachmanninherliterary proseand tothenarrative variation withinit.Iwouldhaveappreciated greater exploration ofcertain topics: for example, Leahyraisesthequestionofnarcissistic pleasureandenjoyment of trauma, buther intensely philosophical focus prevents herfrom relating this questiontothefact that we enjoy reading Bachmann (Malina was a best-seller) and thatBachmann clearly knowstheimportance ofpleasuretostorytelling. Iamalsonotconvinced byLeahy's separation of 'superficial' or 'improper' (p.224) readings ofBachmann's work that concernthemselves withhersocialandhistorical concerns, and thosethat'listen to' the modern (whichstates:'Iam theimpossibility of me' (ibid.))byconsidering her aesthetic concerns. Bachmann'scommitment tofictional rather than philosophical formsofwriting seems tome to resist theprivileging of aesthetic considerations over thebanality of the social. Nevertheless, this is a fascinating and thoughtful book. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON STEPHANIE BIRD Theaterim Medienzeitalter: Das postdramatische Theater vonEfriedeJelinek und HeinerMuller. By DAGMARJAEGER. Bielefeld: Aisthesis. 2007. 174 pp. ?29.8o. ISBN 978-3-89528-587-5. Dagmar Jaeger's studyofElfriedeJelinek andHeinerMuller is focusedon the theatre-text's abilitytocounterthepredominant modes ofperceptionincontem porary post-industrial society. Jaeger locatesresistance incertainrecenttrendsin textual dramaturgy when sheasserts:'Nur Drama jenseits desDramatischen, inder Absage anHandlungund derAbkehrvon Illusionsbilding, bringt die zurFiktion und zumAbbild gewordene Wirklichkeit und die damiteinhergehenden Veran derungeninder Wahrnehmungsbedingungen zumAusdruck' (p. 8). This isher point of departure; Jaegermakes a sustained argument for the political value of a theatre beyondrepresentation andpresentsitinthree chapters. The first chapter, which takesthelion'sshareof thebook'spages,considersthe playsof Muller and Jelinek inturn. While thediscussioncouldhavebenefited from 280 Reviews amoredramaturgical focus, Jaeger none thelessexaminessomecentralissues, par ticularly intheareaofsubjecthood in Muller and issues ofa repressed pastinJelinek. A shorter secondchapter adoptsBenjaminandBaudrillardas theorists ofreality in theageof mechanicalreproduction. Jaeger arguesthatthesimulated worldofBau drillardisthe medium through whichessentially Fascistforms ofcommunication, identified andanalysed by Benjamin,areperpetuated beyond Riefenstahl's films and the Nazis' newsreels. The final chapterinterrogates thepost-dramatic theatre as a siteof resistance, as an anti-Fascist institution. Thepost-dramatic placesemphasis on a shared experience between the stage and the audience, and because it iswork ingbeyondthestrictures ofAristotelianrepresentation, it isable tooffer theatre 'jenseits dervorgeformten begrifflichen Formulierungen' (p. 1o6). Jaeger takesissue withanti-realist attempts atcriticizing reality foundinthe more experimental dra matic theatre ofthetwentieth century becausesheconsiders that reality stillremains theirreference-point. The chapter continues with a discussionof intertextuality in thetwoplaywrights as a texturally jarring moment inwhich theresurrection of a historical consciousness becomespossible.The authorthen pursuesa disquisition on thepost-dramatic 'ich' whose power isconstituted by itstwin virtues ofbeing 'ortslos und tiefenlos' (p. 139); thatis,thespeakerexistsonly through language, and itis thenon-representational configurations of thatlanguagethatengagethe audienceandencourageinterpretation intheauditorium andnotnecessarily on the stage. A brief discussion ofpost-dramatic performance concludesthestudy. For the most part,Jaeger takesa focusedapproachand argues well and solidly. It isslightly surprising tofind no reference toGerda Poschmann's Der nicht mehr dramatische Theatertext (Tubingen: Niemeyer,1997), as thisbook offers awealth of insights intopost-dramatic plays,andPhilipAuslander'sLiveness: Performance inaMediatizedCulture(London:Routledge,1999) isalsomissing.The latter sug geststhattheatre, too,iscaught up inthe mediatizedperceptual processesJaeger is criticizing-Auslander's thesis would haveprovenan interesting counterargument forJaeger tohaveconsidered. Despite theseomissions, however, Jaeger bringsan interesting politicaldimensiontothedebateon thepost-dramatic theatre and illu minatessomecentral tenets oftwo ofthe most important and influential playwrights writingin German inrecent decades. UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX DAVID BARNETT Beschadigung, Entschadigung - Uberlieferung, Auslieferung: Korper, RaumeundGe schichte im WerkvonLibu?e Monikova. ByKARIN WINDT. Bielefeld: Aisthesis. 2007. 243 pp. ?34. ISBN 978-3-89528-632-2. Czech-bornLibuseMonikova's dense, intertextual work continuesto offer new perspectives. Karin Windt'smonographcombinesa detailedfocuson selectedtexts with an overall approach that interrogates some of the received views on Monikova. Inparticular, Windt rejects autobiographically informed readings whichemphasize themes of exile and migration in direct relation to the author's experience. Instead, ...