Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen was a pioneer of realistic drama in the late 19th century, dealing with taboo subjects that mirrored everyday life. Along with August Strindberg, he revolutionized theater by presenting controversial works that could not be produced commercially. Ibsen is known for plays like "A Doll's House" and "Hedda Gabler" that tackled controversial topics and refused to make clear moral judgments. Strindberg further intensified realism to focus on internal personal conflicts between characters. Together, they established modern realistic drama that dealt with serious social issues of the time.

1. Chapter 14

2. Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen was a pioneer in developing modern realistic drama. Along with playwrights like August Strindberg, he revolutionized the
theatre of the late 19th century by dealing with taboo subject matter in a manner that mirrored everyday life. Much of their work was controversial and could not be
produced in state or commercial theatres. Shown here, Cate Blanchet in “Hedda Gabler” in a Sydney Theatre Company Production.
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3.  Background:
The Modern Era
(1875-present)
 Pioneers
▪ Henrik Ibsen (Norwegian)
▪ August Strindberg (Swede)
▪ Anton Chekhov (Russian)
 Began in the late 19th century and continues
to this day
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4.  Theatrical
Realism
 Everything onstage is made to resemble
observable, everyday life
 Power lies in its credibility and sense of
identification
 Departure from realism
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5.  Realistic
Playwrights
 Henrik Ibsen
▪ Considered founder of modern realistic drama.
▪ Best known for “A Doll’s House” and “Hedda Gabler”
▪ Felt drama should tackle taboo subjects for stage
▪ Refused to make clear moral judgements in his
plays
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6.  Realistic
Playwrights
 August Strindberg
▪ 20 years younger than Ibsen; took realism another
step in plays like “Miss Julie” and “The Father.”
▪ Personalized and intensified Ibsen’s realism
▪ Instead of focusing on people in a social context, focused on
people at war with themselves and with each other
▪ Took realism closer to “naturalism” in early part of his career
 No intermission
 Characters multidimensional, complex and contradictory
 Scenery needs to be real pots and pans, etc
 Dialogue is interrupted and fragmented to imitate real life
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7.  Realistic
Playwrights
 Anton Chekhov
▪ “The Seagull” was at first a failure, then a huge
success at the Moscow Art Theatre
▪ Major plays include “Uncle Vanya,” “Cherry
Orchard,” and “The Three Sisters.”
▪ Introduced important element to realism –
▪
▪
▪
▪
moved away from melodramatic elements like suicide
Dealt with a full gallery of characters (12-14) not just 5 or 6
Orchestrated characters so their stories overlapped
Developed tragicomedy
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8.  Naturalism -- special form of realism developed in
Europe in 19th century; not carefully plotted or
constructed but meant to be a “slice of life”
 Developed alongside realism
 A subdivision of realism,
or an extreme form of realism
 Began in France and
spread to other countries
 Most famous naturalistic theorist
and playwright was Emile Zola (French)
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9.  Naturalism
continued
 Everything onstage should seem to have been lifted




directly from everyday life
Dramatic action should never seem contrived but
rather look like a “slice of life”
Many naturalists believed subject should be lower
class
Often focused on the sordid aspects of
society
More strict than realism
▪ Insists on showing stark side of life
▪ Can’t structure events in a way that is aesthetically satisfying
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10. 
Producers of Realism: Independent Theatres
 Exempted from government censorship
 Not striving for commercial success
 Presented plays to small audiences interested
in new dramatic forms
 Best known: Theatre Libre (Free Theater) in
Paris in 1887 by Andre Antoine
 Most influential 19th century theater dedicated
to realism was the Moscow Art Theatre
▪ Founded by Konstantin Stanislavski
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11.  Producers
of Realism: Independent
Theatres
 After initial objection and censorship stopped,
realistic plays staged in Europe and America
 Most important producing group between WWI
and WWII was the Group Theatre
▪ Founding members were Lee Strasberg, Cheryl
Crawford and Harold Clurman
▪ Resident playwright was Clifford Odets
▪ “Waiting for Lefty”
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12.  During Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt established
the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
▪ Included The Federal Theatre Project
▪ Helped revitalize theater outside of New York city
▪ Assisted African-American Theatres and artists
▪ Eventually ended because some members of Congress said
linked to Communism.
 Playwrights around the world continued to write
realism between the two World Wars
▪ Irish playwrights, John Millington Synge (“Riders to the Sea”)
and Sean O’Casey (“The Plough and the Stars”)
▪ US, Eugene O’Neill (“Desire Under Elms,” “Long Day’s
Journey into Night”) and Lillian Hellman (“The Children’s
Hour”)
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13.  Theatrical realism is often seen as having serious
limitations
 Realistic drama excludes a number of effective,
long-standing theatrical devices
▪ Music, dance, symbolism, poetry, fantasy, and the
supernatural
 Led to “departures from realism” or “antirealism”
▪ Often uses symbolism, non-linear narratives and
dream imagery to avoid realistic representation
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14. 
Antirealist Playwrights:
 Ibsen – “Master Builder” and “When We Dead
Awaken” – used symbolism
 Strindberg – “A Dream Play,” “The Ghost Sonata” –
evoked a world of dreams
 Frank Benjamin Wedekind (German) – “Spring
Awakening” – combined symbolist and grotesque
elements with realistic and controversial subject
matter
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15.  Symbolism – movement of the late 19th century and
early 20th century that sought to express inner truth
rather than represent life realistically
 Leading antirealistic movement between 1880
and 1910
 Drama should present not mundane day-today activities but rather the mystery of being
and the infinite qualities of the human spirit
 Goal to evoke atmosphere and mood, not to
tell a story
 Argued against realistic detail in set design
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16.  Symbolism
continued
 Called for poetic theatre in which symbolic
images rather than concrete actions would be
the basic means of communicating with the
audience
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17.  Symbolism
continued
 Relied on independent theaters
 Two theaters in France:
▪ The Theatre d’Art organized by Paul Fort
▪ The Theatre de l’Oevre
▪ Most notorious production was NOT symbolist but a play by
Alfred Jarry called “Ubu the King” (Ubu Roi, or Ubu Turd (but
really a nonsense word)
 Farcical plot that used profanity and scandalous
references
 William Butler Yeats part of the audience that rioted
 Ubu Roi banned from stage and Jarry moved it to a puppet
theater
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18. King Ubu by Alfred Jarry, Marionetteatern 1964 Direction: Michael Meschke
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19.  Antirealist
Designers: Appia and Craig
 Adolphe Appia
 Edward Gordon Craig
 Both presented symbolist’s theories visually
 Their designs were atmospheric, using levels
and light, and revolted against realistic
reproductions
 Influenced many of the leading 20th-century
American designers
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20.  Unit
set – single setting that can
represent a variety of locales with the
addition of props or scenic elements
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21.  Russian
Theatricalism: Meyerhold
 Vsevolod Meyerhold
▪ Leading Russian antirealist between 1905 and 1939
▪ Frequently experimented with theatricalism
▪ Exposing the elements of theatre—the way stage machinery
works—to make the audience aware that they are watching
theater
▪ Devised an acting system known as biomechanics
▪ Emphasized external, physical training
▪ The performer’s body could be trained to operate like a
machine
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22.  Russian
Theatricalism: Meyerhold
 Meyerhold
▪ An early “auteur” director
▪ Argued for the use of “found space”
▪ Experimented with multimedia
▪ His sets were known as constructivist – Post WWII
scenic design movement in which sets – frequently
composed of ramps, platform and levels – were
nonrealistic and intended to provide opportunities for
physical action
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23.  Eclectics
 Theatre artists who tried to bridge the gap
between realism and antirealism
 Argued each play should define its own form
 Eclectic directors
▪ Max Reinhardt
▪ Yevgeny Vakhtangov
▪ Peter Brook
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24.  Expressionism
– movement in Germany at about the
time of WWI, characterized by an attempt to dramatize subjective
states through distortion; striking, often grotesque images.
 Flourished in Germany during World War I
 Representation of reality was distorted in
order to communicate inner feelings
 Highly subjective
 Dramatic action is seen through the eyes of
the protagonist and therefore frequently
seems distorted or dreamlike
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25.  Expressionism
continued
 Plays have common themes –
dehumanization of the individual by society
and deterioration of family
 Protagonist is a Christlike figure
 Characters are
representative types
 Language is telegraphic (brief)
Eugene O’neill’s “The Emperor Jones” like many of his plays from the early 1920s, uses expressionistic techniques. The audience sees the drama
through the eyes of the protagonist, a Black dictatorial ruler of a Caribbean Island who is fleeing from his people in the jungle. Here we see John
Douglas Thompson in the title role in a production at the Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC.
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26.  Futurism,
Dada and Surrealism
 Futurism – Art movement, begun in Italy,
which idealized mechanization and machinery
▪ Originated in Italy around 1909
▪ Idealized war and the machine age
▪ The audience should be confronted and
antagonized
▪ Dada – movement in art between the world wars,
based on presenting the irrational and attacking
traditional artistic values. Not interested in glorifying
war.
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27.  Futurism,
Dada and Surrealism
continued
 Surrealism –
departure from realism that attempted to
present dramatically the workings of the subconscious
▪ Outgrowth of Dada, began in 1924
▪ Subconscious is the highest plane of reality
▪ Attempted to recreate the subconscious dramatically
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28.  The
Theatre of Cruelty and Epic Theatre
 Antonin Artaud (French)
▪ Proposed a theatre of cruelty in the 1930s –
Artaud’s visionary concept of a theater based on magic and
ritual which would liberate deep, violent and erotic impulses
▪ Emphasis on the sensory—viewers’ senses should be
bombarded
▪ Western theatre was antithetical to its ritualistic
origins
▪ There were no more masterpieces
▪ Theatre artists should study stylized Asian theatres
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29.  The
Theatre of Cruelty and Epic Theatre
continued
 Bertolt Brecht (German)
▪ Developed epic theatre – form of episodic drama
associated with Brecht and aimed at the intellect rather than
emotions
▪ Epic in scope, episodic in structure
▪ Cover a great deal of time
▪ Shift locale frequently
▪ Have intricate plots and many characters
▪ Goal: to instruct
▪ Believed that theatre could create an intellectual
climate for social change
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30.  The
Theatre of Cruelty and Epic Theatre
continued
 Bertolt Brecht cont’d
▪ Believed in alienation -- Brecht’s theory that, in his
epic theater, audiences emotional involvement
should be minimized to increase their intellectual
involvement
▪ His work was highly theatrical and audience always made
aware they were watching theater
▪ Narrator frequently used
▪ Used “historification” – plays set in past but really concerned
with paralleling contemporary events
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31. 
Some Background on Asian Theatre
 Cross-fertilization between Western and Asian
theater was exciting and continues today
 3 ancient forms in Japan that still continue:
▪ No – rigidly traditional form of Japanese drama
combining music, dance and lyrics; performers
trained from a young age
▪ Kabuki – form of popular Japanese theater
combining music, dance and dramatic scenes;
involves mie (mee yay) – slow motion
▪ Bunraku – Japanese puppet theater
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32. 
Some Background on Asian Theatre
 India
▪ Kathakali – traditional dance drama of India
▪ Staged at night by torchlight
▪ Presents violence and death in dance and pantomime
▪ Good vs. evil and good always wins
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33. KATHAKALI: INDIAN DANCE DRAMA
Much Asian theater includes a large element of dance. A prime example is kathakali, a dramatic form found
in southwestern India. In kathakali, stories of strong passions, the furies of gods, and the loves and hates of
extraordinary human beings are told in dance and mime. Notice the makeup and stylized costumes and
headdresses on these dancers in Kerala, India.
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34.  Some
Background on Asian Theatre
continued
 China
▪ Beijing opera – Popular theatre in China developed in 19th
century.
▪ Elements of folk drama and other genres
▪ Colorful and striking theatrical form
▪ Preserves traditions of singing, acrobatics, acting, elaborate
and colorful makeup, movement and dance
▪ Offers symbolism
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35. BEIJING (PEKING) OPERA
A highly formalized theatre, Beijing Opera was developed in China in the 19 th century. It is not like Western grand opera; rather, it is
a popular entertainment filled with song, dance, and acrobatics. It makes wide use of symbols – with, for instance, a table standing
for a mountain, or a blue fabric for the sea, as shown here – and is performed in highly colorful and stylized costumes like the ones
we see in this performance. This production is “The Legend of the White Snake.”
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36.  Global
Exchanges
 Chinese and Japanese playwrights influenced
by ground-breaking work of Ibsen, Strindberg
and Chekhov
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37.  Global
Exchanges
 Western playwrights influenced by Mei
Lanfang (world famous actor of Beijing Opera
in the 1930s) and the storytelling techniques
of Chinese theatre
 Exchanges not confined
to East and West
Julie Taymor rehearsing “The Lion King” using techniques
adapted from Indonesia
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38.  Unique
Voices
 Impact of Totalitarianism on Theatre
 The development of European theatre and drama
was curtailed
 Government-supported theatres became
instruments of propaganda
 Experimentation and freedom of expression were
suppressed
 Theatrical artists did resist totalitarianism
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