Rudolf Weiss
"Our Little Parish of St. James‘s”
Číslo: 1/2012
Periodikum: Prague Journal of English Studies
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Anotace:
In the 1890s the London theatre was governed by the idea of centrality. is most
representative and most prestigious theatrical territory was ruled by the actor-manager,
the monocratic director who also played the leading roles. Moreover, he was the arbiter
in matters of dramatic aesthetics, in matters of dramatic ethics as well as audience
reception. Henry Arthur Jones and Arthur Wing Pinero, the most popular playwrights
of the period, provided them with leading parts which reflect their managerial functions
in the dramatic world: the raisonneurs in their society dramas manipulate the
action, advise the other characters and represent social and moral orthodoxy. e
article explores the concept of centrality in the London theatre of the 1890s on various
interconnected levels – theatre management, dramatic technique, functions of the
raisonneur and ideological implications of the scène à faire as well as audience
structure and audience taste. A special focus is placed on the essential (self)reflexivity
of this “little parish”, where the managerial structures of the mainstream theatre are
mirrored in the conventional dramatic aesthetics of society drama, the predominant
genre in the repertoire, which echoes the mind-set of the majority of the spectators.
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representative and most prestigious theatrical territory was ruled by the actor-manager,
the monocratic director who also played the leading roles. Moreover, he was the arbiter
in matters of dramatic aesthetics, in matters of dramatic ethics as well as audience
reception. Henry Arthur Jones and Arthur Wing Pinero, the most popular playwrights
of the period, provided them with leading parts which reflect their managerial functions
in the dramatic world: the raisonneurs in their society dramas manipulate the
action, advise the other characters and represent social and moral orthodoxy. e
article explores the concept of centrality in the London theatre of the 1890s on various
interconnected levels – theatre management, dramatic technique, functions of the
raisonneur and ideological implications of the scène à faire as well as audience
structure and audience taste. A special focus is placed on the essential (self)reflexivity
of this “little parish”, where the managerial structures of the mainstream theatre are
mirrored in the conventional dramatic aesthetics of society drama, the predominant
genre in the repertoire, which echoes the mind-set of the majority of the spectators.