Trial by Theatre: Reports on Czech Drama by Day Barbara (review)

Abstract

SEER, 98, 3, JULY 2020 570 Day, Barbara. Trial by Theatre: Reports on Czech Drama. Dramatica. Karolinum Press, Prague, 2019. 320 pp. Illustrations. Dramatis personae. Titles of Czech and Slovak plays, operas films. Select bibliography. Notes. Index. CZK 420.00 (paperback). For a literature only widely known for a few writers, Czech literature is unusually blessed with books in English about its theatre, notably by Paul Trensky, Marketa Goetz-Stankiewicz, Jarka Burian and, most recently, Jan Čísař. In its scope, accessibility and chronological structure, Barbara Day’s survey of the history of modern Czech theatre is closest to Burian’s 2000 monograph; indeed, she approvingly cites its subtitle — ‘Reflector and Conscience of a Nation’ — in support of her own ‘exploration of why the theatre is central to the social and political history of the Czech lands’ (p. 13). This socio-political approach explains why publishers are so receptive to the topic, but privileges description over interpretation and tends to reduce works to how they reflect the politics of their times. Day characterizes Trial by Theatre as a handbook. It is addressed to a general reader interested in significant but less familiar national theatres. Those working on Czech literature or cultural history will appreciate the wealth of references, and especially the short descriptions of notable productions, but will need to look elsewhere for detail and analysis. Day prioritizes breadth, briefly covering topics as varied as the links between modern Czech theatre and its medieval and folk counterparts, its response to different international influences, movements and theories, and its relationship to related artforms like cabaret and cinema. These topics appear against the background of theatre’s relationship to the nation, from the ‘national revival’ of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the 1939–45 German occupation and the Communist period. Day inevitably has to condense contexts, concepts and episodes into often just a few sentences that cannot accommodate complexity or debate. This method particularly affects the presentation of Czech history, which conforms in a measured way to the dominant national narrative of noble resistance in the face of externally imposed adversity. If Day’s book has an argument, it is that Czech theatre evolves from being a ‘tool for survival in the hands of a nation that felt existentially threatened’ to ‘asking increasingly difficult questions, instinctively analysing and subverting any ideological programme. In its role as the conscience of the land, the theatre has been educational without being didactic, ethical without being self-righteous. Although often intensely political, it did not condemn or endorse, but invited theatregoers to decide for themselves’ (pp. 14–15). This description could be applied by a liberal intellectual to the best theatre of any nation, and is sustainable for certain works by writers like Klicpera, Preissová, Josef Topol REVIEWS 571 and Vostrá, and brilliant productions of Czech and international works by E. F. Burian, Jiří Frejka, Jan Grossman and others discussed here. Day does not, however,typicallyhighlightthemanyworksthatareunequivocallymoralizing, didactic and self-righteous, serve rather than subvert political programmes, advocate conformity or are simply shallow; moreover, important figures (for example, Karel Sabina, Vítězslav Nezval and Pavel Kohout) seem to fade in and out depending on how far they fit the narrative. Day’s almost nostalgic perspective derives from her close personal acquaintance with Czech theatre from the extraordinary variety and energy of the 1960s liberalization, through the years of dissent, to the central role played by theatre people and spaces as Communism fell. This connection manifests itself in the dominance in her book of not only this period and its political values over any other, but also a breathless, encyclopaedic focus on people, frequently brought to life through short, amusing or touching anecdotes. The textual aspect of theatre is subordinate here to the lived world of directors, actors, designers, scholars and audiences interacting with one another and the world outside. Trial by Theatre reflects its author’s long-standing work as an advocate for Czech theatre through translation, writing and teaching and as an ally of proponents of Czech civil society before and after 1989. It is attractively presented in large-size paperback with numerous photographs and images and includes a useful select bibliography of both...