Partnership in the German Theatre: Zuckmayer and Hilpert, 1925-1961 by William Grange (review)

Book Reviews 141 dependence on his own inventive talents as a pariah rejecting all remnants of social norms and values" (266). Of course, by no means all critics would attach such a positive outcome to Lheir interpretation ofGenet's plays, particularly the early ones. Most have not seen Lefranc, for instance, as Plunka does. as Genet's alter ego, the daring protagonist of Deathwatch who proceeds in a rite of passage from solitude to sainthood. They see his venture rather as a useless gesture. and many of them would not go so far as Plunka either in regarding the fatal game played by Claire and Solange, in The Maids, as a triumphant progress towards "sainthood." One might be forgiven for protesting. moreover, that there is much more to Genet's art and aesthetics than "risk taking," and that almost exclusively thematic interpretation tends to make light of his more poetic qualities, such as his lyrical prose and visionary creative powers. However, the author docs at least pay passing tribute to these, even if his main intention, in the case of the novels as well as the plays, is clearly to "unravel" their meaning. One of the liveliest and most pleasing aspects of this book is that it reviews comprehensively and painstakingly productions of the various plays, and their reception by critics, in France, North America, England and elsewhere. As well as a full bibliography and index, it has extensive notes which are too useful not to have been inserted at the end of each chapter, rather than the end of the whole text. Translations from French into English are not always wholly accurate, but they are idiomatic and they never descend to misleading colltresens. PETER. NORRISH, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WEU..lNGTON WILLIAM GRANGE. Partnership in the German Theatre: 2uckmayer and Hilpert, 19251961 . New York: Peter Lang 1991. pp. xviii, 241. $45.95. William Grange's book examines the relationship between the popular Gennan playwright Carl Zuckmayer and his principal director, Heinz Hilpert. Grange observes that the relationship was intuitive in nature, the result of many shared conceptions. Outside Gennany. neither Zuclanayer nor Hilpert has received the attention garnered by other mid-twentieth-century Gennan theatre artists such as Brecht, Piscator, and Reinhardt. The author attempts to correct the neglect by shedding light on their historical significance . Grange, for the most part, succeeds in correcting this unfortunate disregard of two important figures in theatre history. Grange recounts the chronology of their association, discussing each production in which they collaborated. Their first success, Der Hauptmann von K6penick ( 1931), established the artistic basis of their future relationship: Zuclanayer wrote with an attentive ear to everyday dialogue, while Hilpert edited the playwright's often bulky scripts. Grange maintains that it was this sort of coordination which eventuated their success. World War II interrupted their collaborative efforts. Zuckmayer escaped to the US, 142 Book Reviews while Hilpert remained in Nazi Germany as Intendant of the Deutsches Theater. Reunited after the war, they worked together on their next successful production, Des Teufels General (1947). This play, like previous ZuckI?ayer plays, succeeded in capturing the Gennan penchant for idiomatic expression. Attention to physical detail, pictorial realism and progressive narrative place Zuckmayer's dramas in the Naturalist tradition of Hebbel and Hauptmann. As Grange notes, "Zuckmayer had developed an uncanny ability to observe with his ears, to recall his observations almost verbatim, and then to transform it into dialogue" (73). Hilpert's ability to evoke the appropriate gesture reinforced Zuckmayer's psychological realism. For Grange, their success was assur~d by I) a shared vision of drama as expressive of social realism, and 2) Zuckmayer's trust in Hilpert's ability to edit his scripts. Grange makes it clear that Hilpert stressed an illusionistic approach: the barrier separating the actor and character was obscured by the infusion of realistic detail. Hilpert, Grange argues, identified with Otto Brahm, the late nineteenthNcentury German director who searched for "the illusion of actual human life onstage" (88). This book's greatest strength lies in the extent and quality of research into produc· tions. The author has combed through numerous notes, production books and reviews. He is on solid ground when discussing...