Contemporary German scenography: Surging images and spaces for action

摘要

In my essay I explore the scenography of Achim Freyer, Bert Neumann, Anna Viebrock, and Olaf Altmann who have significantly shaped the performances of leading directors such as Frank Castorf, Jossi Wieler, Christoph Marthaler, and Michael Thalheimer. Their scenography offers a diversity of approaches ranging from experiments with real space to perceptual space, from simulations of film techniques to the virtual extension of the stage space through video technology, yet all are contributing to a broader movement on the German stage that pushes the boundaries of how scenography can contribute to performance. I examine how Freyer, Neumann, Viebrock, and Altmann conceive what Walter Benjamin has called Bildrume, or image spaces. Benjamin understood those as dynamic spaces, which cite or employ authentic spaces to evoke political views and cultural memories, and to invent constellations of shapes that define characters, create a space of action, prepare space as an event, and engage actors and audiences in unexpected interactions. I show that Freyer, Neumann, Viebrock, and Altmann have reshaped contemporary German scenography and created a performative framework by placing the past and present into a productive visual constellation. Generally, they have shaped two trends. First, since their scenography has remained predominantly within the parameters of German proscenium stages, each designer has conceived ideas to redefine the stage-auditorium relationship. Second, the work of the four scenographers has substantially altered the relationship between space and text.