German Plays by Professional Actors [17th century]

For the first time, handwritten plays performed by professional actors in the German-speaking world about 300 years ago are made accessible to a wider academic and non-academic public in a volume entitled Spieltexte der Comoedianten [German plays by professional actors from the 17th century]. All these stage plays stem from a collection that is kept in the Vienna City Library. They provide information about what stories were told on the theatrical stages and about what made an audience laugh 300 years ago. At times, they also contain information about how the plays were staged, and whether theatrical special effects were used for this purpose. Because the ensuing 18th century theater of the Enlightenment aimed at a general education of the public and at teaching a measured, reason- based lifestyle, these pieces were considered old-fashioned, at times even scandalous, and were therefore suppressed from 1750 onward. The published plays are very imaginative and full of extraordinary scenic effects; they paint everything in an inflated manner: the ideal romantic love, malicious intrigues, irreconcilable quarrels and cruel murders. There are kings and queens, princesses and dukes, privy councilors and soldiers, but also craftsmen, shepherds, and fools like Picklehering or Hans Wurst. Sharp contrasts between attitudes and views of the upper and lower classes belong to the crucial scenic effects. Such contrasts were effective as well in stories about rulers disguising themselves as beggars, or about fools playing rulers. Overall, these dramas differ significantly from what is shown on stage today, and are more comparable to popular fantasy films. Despite such common characteristics, it should be emphasized that the published plays in this volume are nevertheless very diverse, which is due to the fact that the majority of them are translations and adaptations of dramas originating from different cultural spheres, namely from England, the Netherlands, France and Italy. The introduction to this volume explains why today, hardly anyone knows anything substantial about the beginnings of German professional theater and thus the repertoire of these actors, and why this publication is setting out to change this. In addition, introductions to each of the plays detail what we know about the history of these dramas, their content and their being performed in the German- speaking areas. Because many of the words and phrases in these texts are no longer in use, an extensive commentary explains their meaning and possible interpretations of selected scenes, so that todays readers can understand the theatrical language of the time. In summary, the volume invites the public onto a journey into a world of theater that has disappeared, but which still maintains its power to captivate an audience, as the remaining plays now edited for the first time amply demonstrate.