Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm

Theatre and the Crisis of Democracy

Western-style democracy is in crisis: migration, global warming and the economic consolidation of power go hand in hand with a devaluation of former stakeholders and institutions, such as the nation and its parliament. In many places, the answer is a return to forms and structures of authoritarian rule. Against this background, the lecture series “Frankfurter Positionen 2021” invites artists and academics from disciplines dealing with theatre and performance to reflect on the relationship between theatre and democracy. How do new forms of theatre, choreography and forms of performance that transcend genres and styles react to this crisis? How does this crisis affect their formats, modes of organisation and content?

The scene is a volatile, mobile form. According to its original meaning “tent”, it refers to a provisional structure that can be erected and dismantled anywhere. In her talk, Juliane Vogel (Professor of Modern German Literature and General Literary Studies at the University of Konstanz) explores these attributes of the provisional from a historical perspective, in the context of drama and beyond. In doing so, she traces attempts to discipline the scene, while at the same time revealing the political potential of a form that opens up new spaces of expression wherever it appears.