The book ‘Independent Theater in Contemporary Europe’ by Manfred Brauneck will be published
According to Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), the book ‘Independent Theater in Contemporary Europe: Structural, Aesthetic, and Cultural Policy Transformations’ by Manfred Brauneck, translated by Ali Haji Mollaali, will be published at the behest of the paper and seminar section of the 44th Fajr International Theater Festival.
This book is about ‘independent theater’ in Europe, referring to theatrical productions formed outside formal and governmental theater mechanisms. The main focus of the book is the examination of three key dimensions: organizational and production structures, aesthetic trends and languages, and cultural policy frameworks and funding.
Brauneck’s goal in this research book is to study the structural transformations of European theater from 1990 to 2020. This research was conducted in a context where Europe was experiencing changes resulting from the formation of the European Union; a transformation that affected international productions, networking, digitalization, project-based productions, and the blending of forms, leading to the economization of various aspects of life and the commercialization of public spaces.
«Over the past 20 years, European theater has undergone fundamental changes in terms of aesthetic focus, institutional structure, and its place in society. The driver of these changes has been a new generation on the theater scene, namely independent theaters.»
The book meticulously examines independent theaters in Eastern and Western European countries. It first precisely explains the political situation of each country and its relationship with independent theaters. It describes cultural policy in these countries and the formation of new aesthetics for independent theaters, providing successful examples for each country.
This work is useful for independent theater artists and activists, cultural policymakers and festival managers, theater researchers and students, historians, and sociologists.
Ali Haji Mollaali, the translator of this work, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Drama at Soore International University and has previously authored ‘Joyful Transgression’ and translated the play ‘My Uncle Sam’ and the book ‘Fundamentals of Acting and Improvisation in Theater’.
The 44th Fajr International Theater Festival, directed by Seyed Vahid Fakhr-Mousavi, will be held this Bahman (February) and the management of the seminar and research section of this artistic event is entrusted to Ramteen Shahbazi.
