ABSTRACT
The history of the theatre is the history of the transfiguration of the human form.
Schlemmer in Gropius, The Theatre of the Bauhaus
The early twentieth-century Bauhaus movement in Germany is primarily known for its work in art and architecture. However, its attempt to revolutionise culture extended to theatre in a way that provides a useful starting point from which to consider the body within drama and therapy. Oskar Schlemmer began work in the Bauhaus community as head of the scripting workshop, but he gradually transformed it into the Bauhaus ‘Stage Shop’, as the leader of the movement, Walter Gropius, describes it. The remains of the output of the Shop are with us in the form of writings, photographs and diagrams. The recorded images contain many of the costumes and productions of the Bauhaus, but all return to Gropius’ central theatrical aim: to experience stage space through the body.
