The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-07-09

An International Theatre
Exposition

Is uOIUIuS ali lHISIHdlAOlAcA AhCoCLS
Exposition, and which is to continue
through the summer. The opening
was marked by festive performance
of Verd's "La Fora del Destino,"
translated by the poet and dramatist
Werfel, and conducted by Walther
Beck.
The show aims to trace the devel
opment of staging art, by means of
plastic reproductions and models. The
exhibition, which claims to cover the
ages from Aeschuylus to the German
Peoples Theatre of today, is curious
ly reserved towards the stage devel-
opment of our own times. The thea
tire of today, it has been argued by
the promoters, is in state of transi-
ton, and too much attention cannot
be paid to the development of any
one mans work. The naturalistic
theatre, expressionism, the "stylised
STAGE" to mention only few of the
degrees through which Germany her
self has passed during the past few
years, are denoted by examples of
each.
The exhibition begins with the year
458 B. C. From a model of the
Athenian Dionysian Theatre, complete
with spectators regarding scene
from "Agamemnon," there is quick
transition to the Middle Ages. Mys-
teries and passion plays are coeval
with the carnival mummers and the
Hans Sachs plays, which were robust
and caustic criticisms of the times.
Later the German troops of wander
ing players, modelled on the English
type, We're making way for the Court
theatres, leading up to the "classic"
period of Goethe and Schiller. The
finest piece in the exhibition is the
original scenery to the first perform
ance of Schiller's Robbers" in 1882,
discovered some years ago. Bayreuth
is shown in models from its inception
to the latest setting of the Ring"
But the most fascinating to the for
eign visitor are the technical exhibits
showing the latest devices used in the
German theatre of today. All that
can be done to produce illusion in the
way of mechanical apparatus, lighting
effects, and revolving stages, gain
doubly in interest when they are COM
pared with the models of the highly
cumbersome but doubtless effective
devices used in the fifteenth and six
teenth centuries.
One important movement in the
German theatre Of today is very well
represented. This is the political side
of the two streams of organized au-
diences who form the great theatre
going public in the middle and lower
classes. The Peoples Theatre,
working class group, has it's affiliated
branches of young peoples theatre
guilds, who play in improvised thea
tres all over the Reich. This has it's
counterpart in a National" theatre
movement, where the amateurs of
non-revolutionary turn of mind con-
struct stages of the same type. The
only difference is in the type of play
chosen. So highly organized is the
whole theatre-going movement in
Germany that parties are being made
up of members of these dramatic as
sociations to visit this exhibition
alone, which provides for practically
one big party of theatre lovers day
during the three months the exhibit
ton will last.
Bernard Shaw is well represented;
so is Reinhardt, Spindberg and Wede-
kind. Russia is represented by models
of the work of Tairoff. And the his
torical section is especially interest
ing. There are many examples of the
most modern stage technic, "futurism"
and other features of expressionistic
art.
The fact that Magdeburg, city re-
nowned chiefly for its sugar-beets, it's
iron works, with no artistic reputation
whatsoever, is holding Theatre Ex-
bihitiop ic tvnica1 of that shirt fo,,