A history of Scandinavian theatre by Frederick J. Marker and Lise-Lone Marker (review)

Book Reviews FREDERICK J. MARKER and LISE-LONE MARKER. A history of Scandinavian theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1996. Pp. xv, 384, illustrated . $59.95. A history ofScandinavian theatre (the lower case initials reflect Scandinavian practice) is the culmination of a series of works by Frederick J. Marker and Lise-Lone Marker devoted to Scandinavian drama and theatre: The Scandinavian Theatre: a Short History (1975); Edward Gordon Craig and "The Pretenders " (1981); Ingmar Bergman: Four decades in the Theatre (1982); Ibsen's Lively Art (1989); and Ingmar Bergman: a Life in the Theatre (1992). Frederick 1. Marker is also the author of Hans Christian Andersen and the Romantic Theatre. In their preface, the authors point out that the present book "had its origins in an invitation to revise and reissue The Scandinavian Theatre: A Short History"; the result was "an entirely new book," with considerable expansion and revision of the chapters devoted to theatre up to the mid-nineteenth century and "a much fuller and more detailed account of the evolution of modernism and postmodernism in the theatre of the past century and a quarter" (xiv) - a claim that is fully justified. The new book also has more illustrations than its predecessor (seventy-five to fifty), and these are of better quality. The authors' aim is to present "a critical analysis of dominant styles and trends" in Scandinavian theatre "from the Middle Ages to the present day" (xiii). The focus is on Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, a geographically correct definition of Scandinavia which also fits the belief that "theatrical developments occurring in one of these Nordic countries will very often have parallels or repercussions in another" (xiii). This means that the book proceeds chronologically in terms of theatrical eras - the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and so on - but comparatively within each era. This method fosModern Drama, 40 (1997) 553 554 Book Reviews ters an interesting sense of interconnectedness, while allowing the golden age of each country to take centre stage. The narrative is both complicated and enriched by reminders of strong cultural influences from other European nations, most notably italy, France, and Germany. The book has two parts. Part One, "From the Middle Ages to a Golden Age," has five chapters: "Early stages"; "Theatre at court"; "Playhouses of the eighteenth century"; "The Gustavian age"; and "The Romantic theatre and its aftermath." Part 2, "Pioneers of Modem and Postmodem Theatre," has six chapters: "lbsen'sNorway"; "Naturalism and the director"; "The Strindberg challenge"; "The modernist revolt"; "Tradition and experiment since 1945"; and "The plurality of postrnodem theatre." One of this book's merits is that Ibsen and Strindberg are not discussed in a void, as so often happens with these dramatists, but are seen to be part of a rich cultural heritage. Both Ibsen's plays and his idea of drama are deeply indebted to Danish golden-age culture, notably the Viking-gothic tragedies of Adam Oehlenschliiger and the idealist aesthetics of Johan Ludvig Heiberg and Johanne Luise Heiberg, the famous Danish actress. My one serious criticism of their book is that the Markers, after stressing Ibsen's link with this idealist tradition, then go on to praise Ingmar Bergman's Ibsen productions which are anti-idealist to the point of travesty. Strindberg, in his tum, is heir to "the abiding fascination with history that has characterized Swedish playwrights of almost every era" (214), and readers will discover a remarkable parallel between him and Gustav III, one of those "stage-struck royals" (50) who have so enriched Scandinavian theatre. While it is good to see Bjtj>msteme Bjtj>mson credited with "the opening of new directions in Norwegian theatre" (137), it is a pity that the Markers have chosen to leave Bjtj>mson the dramatist still in Ibsen's shadow (141). Bjtj>mson pioneered a strong, politically grounded drama of crisis and reconciliation, which is the true model for such twentieth-century playwrights as Harley Granville Barker and David Hare. A Bankruptcy (1875), The King (1877), and Beyond Our Power /I (1895) are astonishingly prophetic of our own fin de siecle experience, and deserve contemporary production and critical attention as much as Ibsen's and more than Strindberg's plays. Read the...