No Man's Land: East German Drama After the Wall (Contemporary Theatre Review)

A collection of essays, memoirs and plays that represent an early attempt to assess and reassess the German Democratic Republic's theatre following the political events and turning points of 1989 and afterwards. Contributors include Christoph Funke, Carl Weber and Jost Herand.

The political events of annus mirabilis 1989 marked a rare turning point in world history, but the significance of the year for German literary history is unique. As the 40-year-old German Democratic Republic ceased to exist, so too did the special circumstances which had fostered a literature separate from and in competition with that of the Federal Republic of Germany. A new period of literary history was delimited almost overnight: Germany Democratic Republic literature now was something to be examined as a whole, cultural movement. At the same time, the literary traditions of the German Democratic Republic have continued to influence the contemporary cultural scene, often in ways that are only gradually becoming clear.
The essays, memoirs, and plays collected in this special issue of Contemporary Theatre Review represent an early attempt to assess and reassess one of the German Democratic Republic's richest cultural domains: its theatre. Contributors include David W. Robinson, C

GDR theater was shaped from the beginning by a strongly antifascist, progressive intent, working on the assumption that people could be turned into socialist "New Men" by exposure to positive role models. The knights of the round table : a comedy / Christoph Hein Strangers in the night / Jochen Berg.