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Boulevard Comedy Theatre in Germany
Author(s): Daniel Meyer-Dinkgrafe (Author, Editor)
- Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
- Publication Date: 6 Dec. 2005
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 118 pages
- ISBN-10: 190430348X
- ISBN-13: 9781904303480
Book Description
Twenty major German cities have a total of twenty-four theatres specializing, at a high level of sophistication, in presenting light comedy. They have their own typical ambience, principles of artistic management and casting. There are playwrights, actors, directors and designers who work almost exclusively in the genre, called boulevard comedy, developing highly specialised approaches to their work. In almost all cases, the predominantly privately run boulevard comedy theatres in Germany have been able to attract larger audiences than municipal or state theatres in the same cities. The book provides a description and an analysis of this phenomenon, which is unique to Germany. Chapters focus on an analysis of ambience, artistic managers, artistic policies and artistic structures, on major characteristics of the plays presented on the stages of German boulevard comedy theatres, on aspects of translation and the cultural transfer of comedy and laughter and on aspects of production and reception, dealing in turn with actors, directors, media coverage and audiences.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgrafe studied English and Philosophy at the University of Dusseldorf, Germany. In 1994 he obtained his Ph.D. at the Department of Drama, Theatre and Media Arts, Royal Holloway, University of London. From 1994 to 2007, he was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. Since October 2007 he has been Professor of Drama at the Lincoln School of Performing Arts, University of Lincoln. His research focuses on the relationship between theatre and consciousness.
