ABSTRACT

During the twentieth century, an increasingly diverse range of buildings and spaces was used for theatre. Theatre architecture was re-formed by new approaches to staging and performance, while theatre was often thought to have a reforming role in society. Innovation was accompanied by the revival and reinterpretation of older ideas. The contributors to this volume explore these ideas in a variety of contexts, from detailed discussions of key architects’ work (including Denys Lasdun, Peter Moro, Cedric Price and Heinrich Tessenow) to broader surveys of theatre in West Germany and Japan. Other contributions examine the Malmö Stadsteater, ’ideal’ theatres in post-war North America, ’found space’ in 1960s New York, and Postmodernity in 1980s East Germany. Together these essays shed new light on this complex building type and also contribute to the wider architectural history of the twentieth century.

chapter |18 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|16 pages

Fifty Years of Theatre-making

Anecdotes and Aperçus

chapter 2|26 pages

The German Reform Theatre

Heinrich Tessenow and Eurhythmic Performance Space at Dresden-Hellerau

chapter 4|22 pages

The Malmö Stadsteater

Lewerentz's Flawed and Forgotten Masterpiece

chapter 6|30 pages

‘A London Architect Who Has Specialised'

Peter Moro and Festivity in Theatre Design, c. 1955–82

chapter 7|16 pages

The Limits of 1960s Radicalism

The Fun Palace Versus the National Theatre

chapter 8|22 pages

Ideal Theatres

One Roof or Two?

chapter 9|18 pages

Stage and City

Joseph Papp and The Public Theater

chapter 11|2 pages

Encore