Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2002

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

German

Major Professor

Peter Höyng

Committee Members

Olaf Berwald, Stefanie Ohnesorg

Abstract

This thesis is on the Yugoslav playwright Biljana Srbljanovic and the reception of her plays and their performances in Germany. Biljana Srbljanovic, born in 1971, lives and works in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. She teaches theater history at the University of Belgrade and has written four plays to date: Bel grader Trilogie ( 1995), Familiengeschichten. Belgrad (1997), Der Sturz (1999) and Supermarket. Soap Opera (2001 ). All of her plays have been performed on the main stages in Germany and have received a lot of attention there. The following investigation of the reception of her works in Germany is based on the reviews of her plays and their performances that were published in major newspapers and magazines in Germany from 1995 untill 2001. The purpose of this thesis is to answer the following questions: Have the works of Biljana Srbljanovic been mainly perceived within the socio-political context of Yugoslavia of the past ten years (1991-2001)? Which aesthetical values except those within the sociopolitical context have been recognized by German theater critics? Is there any difference in the reception of her works between the theater critics and the directors of her performances (theater as an institution) in Germany? It has been found that most of the theater critics in Germany interpreted the works of Biljana Srbljanovic in the context of past political events in Yugoslavia (1991-2001), whereas the directors of the performances put much more emphasis on those elements of her plays that are generally applicable for other countries or are related to the works of other international playwrights. Thus, theaters in Germany were not primarily interested in the politics surrounding the plays of Biljana Srbljanovic but maintained their function as a moral stage, enlightening the audience about war and nationalism as general issues.

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