Theatre and Globalisation: Theoretical and Historical Dimensions

Abstract

Abstract The first section of the essay argues that theatrical globalisation begins in the second half of the nineteenth century with the rapid expansion of transportation, trading, and communication networks. It discusses some definitions of globalisation, especially its influential variant, glocalisation, and how we can use these terms in a theatrical context. It draws on David Singh Grewal’s notion of standardisation as a prerequisite for networked globalisation. The essay proposes that we look at theatrical globalisation from the perspective of ‘institutions in motion’, that is, the transferral of theatrical practices in different cultural environments. The global diffusion of Stanislavsky’s ‘method’ is a case in point. The main part of the chapter revisits Peter L. Becker’s influential theory of cultural globalisation and reformulates it under the heading ‘the five faces of theatrical globalisation’: marketisation, musicalisation, festivalisation, mediatisation, and musealisation. The essay demonstrates how these phenomena can be applied to current developments, especially in but not restricted to musical theatre.