Theatre

Theatre Timeline: Modernism

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    Friedrich Nietzsche

    Friedrich Nietzsche was another major precursor of Modernism with a philosophy in which psychological drives, specifically the "will to power", was of central importance.
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    Sigmund Freud

    Influential in the early days of Modernism were the theories of Sigmund Freud.
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    Modern Indian Theatre

    Modern Indian theatre developed during the period of colonial rule under the British Empire, from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th.
  • Émile Zola

    Émile Zola
    At first, modernist theatre was in large part an attempt to realize the reformed stage on naturalistic principles as advocated by Émile Zola in the 1880s.
  • Konstantin Stanislavski

    Konstantin Stanislavski
    Founder of the Moscow Art Theatre, Konstantin Stanislavski formulates the revolutionary Stanislavski Method of acting, which requires actors to see and hear on stage as they do in real life, enabling them to react to theatrical situations in the same way they would in real life. He is credited with launching the age of the great director in modern theater.
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    Explosion of Modernism

    An important aspect of Modernism is how it relates to tradition through its adoption of techniques like reprise, incorporation, rewriting, recapitulation, revision and parody in new forms.
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    20th Century

    There was a great deal of experimental theatre that rejected the conventions of realism and naturalism. These experiments form part of the modernist and postmodernist movements and included forms of political theatre as well as more aesthetically orientated work.
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    The Continuous Expansion of Modernism

    Between 1930 and 1932 composer Arnold Schoenberg worked on Moses und Aaron one of the first operas to make use of the twelfth note technique, Pablo Picasso painted in 1937 Guernica, his cubist condemnation of fascism, while in 1939 James Joyce pushed the boundaries of the modern novel further with Finnegans Wake.
  • Ghanaian Theatre

    Ghanaian Theatre
    Modern theatre in Ghana did not emerge in Ghana until the early 20th century. Mbuguous is the name given to very specialized sector of Ghanaian theatre technique which allows audience participation in the tale. This technique as well as improvisation are used enough to meet any standard of modern theatre.
  • Post-Modern Theatre

    Post-Modern Theatre
    Postmodern theatre is a recent phenomenon in world theatre, coming as it does out of the postmodern philosophy that originated in Europe. Most postmodern productions are centered on highlighting the fallibility of definite truth, instead encouraging the audience to reach their own individual understanding.