A Constant Struggle for Freedom : Edward Albee in
Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic

KAČER, Tomáš. A Constant Struggle for Freedom : Edward Albee in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. Online. In Santana, Esther. Albee Abroad. Leiden: Brill, 2023, p. 15-35. New Perspectives in Edward Albee Studies, Volume: 5. ISBN 978-90-04-54412-3. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004544130_003.

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TY  - CHAP
ID  - 2298099
AU  - Kačer, Tomáš
PY  - 2023
TI  - A Constant Struggle for Freedom : Edward Albee in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic
VL  - New Perspectives in Edward Albee Studies, Volume: 5
PB  - Brill
CY  - Leiden
SN  - 9789004544123
KW  - Edward Albee
KW  - Czechoslovakia
KW  - absurdism
KW  - censorship
UR  - https://brill.com/display/title/64724?language=en
N2  - Czech productions of Edward Albee’s dramas have been a drama in themselves, revealingly aligned with crucial phases in the country’s political history. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was first staged in Czechoslovakia in 1963, coinciding with the author’s visit to the country during rehearsals. Albee’s instant popularity among audiences ran parallel to an intense critical dispute over the nature of his writing. While one group of critics argued that the play was realist and critical of American values and thus prevented potential censorship, another welcomed Albee as a representative of the fresh, young, and progressive absurdist strain of theater reflecting a general thawing of the Communist regime in the country at the time. A second phase in Albee’s reception began with the Czech production of A Delicate Balance in 1969. That play, understood as a commentary on the 1968 Soviet invasion that effectively ended the Prague Spring, marked Albee as a problematic author for Czechoslovak censorship, a stigma that lasted until the end of the Communist regime in 1989. In the phase unfolding since then, Czech productions of Albee have seen continuous struggles over interpretation. The Czech “director’s theater” staging tradition led to a disregard of stage directions, prescribed scenography, and actors’ ages, thus shifting the plays’ message significantly. Through case studies of several landmark productions in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, this chapter presents a history of Czech Albee productions and criticism as a constant struggle for freedom of various kinds: of interpretation, speech, and artistic expression.
ER  -

Basic information
Original name	A Constant Struggle for Freedom : Edward Albee in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic
Authors	KAČER, Tomáš (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
Edition	Leiden, Albee Abroad, p. 15-35, 21 pp. New Perspectives in Edward Albee Studies, Volume: 5, 2023.
Publisher	Brill

Other information
Original language	English
Type of outcome	Chapter(s) of a specialized book
Field of Study	60206 Specific literatures
Country of publisher	Netherlands
Confidentiality degree	is not subject to a state or trade secret
Publication form	electronic version available online
WWW	URL
RIV identification code	RIV/00216224:14210/23:00131258
Organization unit	Faculty of Arts
ISBN	978-90-04-54412-3
Doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004544130_003
Keywords in English	Edward Albee; Czechoslovakia; absurdism; censorship
Tags	rivok
Tags	International impact, Reviewed
Changed by	Changed by: Mgr. Pavla Martinková, učo 361548. Changed: 3/3/2024 11:53.

Abstract

Czech productions of Edward Albee’s dramas have been a drama in themselves, revealingly aligned with crucial phases in the country’s political history. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was first staged in Czechoslovakia in 1963, coinciding with the author’s visit to the country during rehearsals. Albee’s instant popularity among audiences ran parallel to an intense critical dispute over the nature of his writing. While one group of critics argued that the play was realist and critical of American values and thus prevented potential censorship, another welcomed Albee as a representative of the fresh, young, and progressive absurdist strain of theater reflecting a general thawing of the Communist regime in the country at the time. A second phase in Albee’s reception began with the Czech production of A Delicate Balance in 1969. That play, understood as a commentary on the 1968 Soviet invasion that effectively ended the Prague Spring, marked Albee as a problematic author for Czechoslovak censorship, a stigma that lasted until the end of the Communist regime in 1989. In the phase unfolding since then, Czech productions of Albee have seen continuous struggles over interpretation. The Czech “director’s theater” staging tradition led to a disregard of stage directions, prescribed scenography, and actors’ ages, thus shifting the plays’ message significantly. Through case studies of several landmark productions in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, this chapter presents a history of Czech Albee productions and criticism as a constant struggle for freedom of various kinds: of interpretation, speech, and artistic expression.

Links
MUNI/A/1054/2022, interní kód MU	Name: Paradigms, strategies and developments - Anglophone literary and cultural studies III
MUNI/A/1054/2022, interní kód MU	Investor: Masaryk University, Paradigms, strategies and developments - Anglophone literary and cultural studies III

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A Constant Struggle for Freedom : Edward Albee in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic

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