Mussolini's Theatre
Subtitle: Fascist Experiments in Art and Politics
Publisher: University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations
Published: 2021
Language: eng
Number of pages: 312
ISBN-13: 9781108830591
Subjects: Literature
Description: Benito Mussolini has been persistently described as an actor: both 'merely' an actor and not a true, thinking politician - and as a master of illusions. In Mussolini's Theatre, Patricia Gaborik sets aside the metaphorical notions of Mussolini as an actor and instead tells the story of his life as a literal spectator, critic, impresario, dramatist, and censor of the stage. She recounts Mussolini's most significant theatrical influences, his relationships with a series of luminaries (Gabriele D'Annunzio and George Bernard Shaw chief among them), his oversight of stage censorship, and even his forays into playwriting to explore how the dictator's tastes and convictions shaped theatrical programming throughout fascist Italy. Bringing together history, biography, performance analysis, and aesthetic theory, the study shows how Mussolini's maneuverings in the theatre shed light on the nature and workings of Italian fascism as a whole.