The “Advent of the New Rule”: An Oresteia (1947) in Prague and the Epistemological Limits of Archivalia
-
Alena Sarkissian
Abstract
This chapter investigates the limits of archival research for the study of the performance reception of ancient drama with reference to Karel Dostal’s production of The Oresteia (1947) in post-war Czechoslovakia. My research showcases how documents held in different archives can enter into dialogue with each other and shine a light on previously opaque facets of this long-ago performance, but at times it also testifies to the contradictory and lacunose nature of archival material. The documents that survive about Dostal’s Oresteia help us uncover the inner working of Czechoslovakia’s most influential theatre institution at a turning point in its history and the power games that the country’s political apparatus played with the National Theatre’s management. A seemingly mediocre production and the time it spent in the theatre repertoire can thus be re-accessed as a taster of how the Communist Party would manage the National Theatre once it gained power.
Abstract
This chapter investigates the limits of archival research for the study of the performance reception of ancient drama with reference to Karel Dostal’s production of The Oresteia (1947) in post-war Czechoslovakia. My research showcases how documents held in different archives can enter into dialogue with each other and shine a light on previously opaque facets of this long-ago performance, but at times it also testifies to the contradictory and lacunose nature of archival material. The documents that survive about Dostal’s Oresteia help us uncover the inner working of Czechoslovakia’s most influential theatre institution at a turning point in its history and the power games that the country’s political apparatus played with the National Theatre’s management. A seemingly mediocre production and the time it spent in the theatre repertoire can thus be re-accessed as a taster of how the Communist Party would manage the National Theatre once it gained power.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments VII
- Contents IX
- List of Figures XIII
- Introduction: Classical Reception in the Early 2020s, Critical Times and Where to Next? 1
-
Part I: Concepts, Methods, and Intersections in Classical Reception
-
Section 1: Re-Thinking Classical Reception
- The Master’s Tools?: Towards a Politics of Reception 23
- Classics on the Surface: Classical Reception as an Emergent Process 41
- Masked Celluloid Classics? Shadows of Clytemnestra in Film Noir 61
-
Section 2: Working with Archives
- The “Advent of the New Rule”: An Oresteia (1947) in Prague and the Epistemological Limits of Archivalia 87
- Karolos Koun’s Art Theatre, the Greek Dictatorship, and the Ford Foundation: From Handout to Handshake 119
- Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa: Troubled Beauty in Classical Receptions of Film Stardom 139
-
Section 3: Cultural Intersections
- Mocking the Hollywood Epic Canon: Parodies of the Classical World from Latin American Cinema’s Studio Era 169
- Suspended Temporalities and Classical Reception: Cassandra in Anne Carson’s Agamemnon 193
- Manga and the Power of the Classical Object: The Merging of Eastern and Western Traditions 215
-
Part II: Classical Receptions in Response to Societal Challenges
-
Section 4: Forming and Re-Negotiating Identities
- Cripping Venus: Intersections of Classics and Disability Studies in Contemporary Receptions of the Venus de Milo 239
- Social Justice-Engaged Reception Pedagogy at Wake Forest University 265
- Classics on the Italian Stage: Old Habits and ‘New Deals’ 279
-
Section 5: Greek Tragedy in a Time of Pandemic
- Tragedy as an Open Network: Antigone in Ferguson (2016–) and The Nurse Antigone (2022–2023) 307
- “Where’s the Body?”: Performing Iphigenia at Aulis in New Zealand during the Pandemic (2020) 329
-
Section 6: Engaging with Technology and the Wider Public
- Escaping Hades: Playing with Classical Reception 357
- Classical Reception Meets Pedagogy: The Creation and Uses of the Panoply Vase Animation Project's Our Mythical Childhood and Locus Ludi Animations 383
- List of Contributors 409
- Index 415
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments VII
- Contents IX
- List of Figures XIII
- Introduction: Classical Reception in the Early 2020s, Critical Times and Where to Next? 1
-
Part I: Concepts, Methods, and Intersections in Classical Reception
-
Section 1: Re-Thinking Classical Reception
- The Master’s Tools?: Towards a Politics of Reception 23
- Classics on the Surface: Classical Reception as an Emergent Process 41
- Masked Celluloid Classics? Shadows of Clytemnestra in Film Noir 61
-
Section 2: Working with Archives
- The “Advent of the New Rule”: An Oresteia (1947) in Prague and the Epistemological Limits of Archivalia 87
- Karolos Koun’s Art Theatre, the Greek Dictatorship, and the Ford Foundation: From Handout to Handshake 119
- Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa: Troubled Beauty in Classical Receptions of Film Stardom 139
-
Section 3: Cultural Intersections
- Mocking the Hollywood Epic Canon: Parodies of the Classical World from Latin American Cinema’s Studio Era 169
- Suspended Temporalities and Classical Reception: Cassandra in Anne Carson’s Agamemnon 193
- Manga and the Power of the Classical Object: The Merging of Eastern and Western Traditions 215
-
Part II: Classical Receptions in Response to Societal Challenges
-
Section 4: Forming and Re-Negotiating Identities
- Cripping Venus: Intersections of Classics and Disability Studies in Contemporary Receptions of the Venus de Milo 239
- Social Justice-Engaged Reception Pedagogy at Wake Forest University 265
- Classics on the Italian Stage: Old Habits and ‘New Deals’ 279
-
Section 5: Greek Tragedy in a Time of Pandemic
- Tragedy as an Open Network: Antigone in Ferguson (2016–) and The Nurse Antigone (2022–2023) 307
- “Where’s the Body?”: Performing Iphigenia at Aulis in New Zealand during the Pandemic (2020) 329
-
Section 6: Engaging with Technology and the Wider Public
- Escaping Hades: Playing with Classical Reception 357
- Classical Reception Meets Pedagogy: The Creation and Uses of the Panoply Vase Animation Project's Our Mythical Childhood and Locus Ludi Animations 383
- List of Contributors 409
- Index 415
