expressionism

Expressionism was a movement in drama and theatre that principally developed in Germany in the early decades of the 20th century. It was then popularized in the United States, Spain, China, the U.K., and all around the world. Similar to the broader movement of Expressionism in the arts, Expressionist theatre utilized theatrical elements and scenery with exaggeration and distortion to deliver strong feelings and ideas to audiences. History The early Expressionist theatrical and dramatic movement in Germany had Dionysian, Hellenistic, and Nietzsche philosophy influences. It was impacted by the likes of German poet August Stramm and Swedish playwright August Strindberg. Murderer, the Hope of Women by Oskar Kokoschka, written in 1907 and first performed in Vienna in 1909, was the first fully expressionist drama. Expressionism was then explored and evolved in Germany by a multitude of playwrights, the most famous of which being Georg Kaiser, whose first successful play, The Burghers of Calais, was written in 1913 and first performed in 1917. Another highly influential German Expressionist playwright was Ernst Toller who had his first successful play, Transformation, premier in Berlin in 1919. These German playwrights and many others explored and evolved expressionist theatre and drama until the movement faded in popularity throughout Germany by 1924. In the 1920s theatrical expressionism became very popular in the United States among audiences and artists alike. Eugene O'Neill, although widely known for his realist dramas, was the first playwright in the United States to experience success with an expressionist piece. O'Neill's The Hairy Ape was the first fully expressionist play written by an American playwright, it premiered in 1922. Elmer Rice gained notoriety shortly after with the premier of his expressionist play The Adding Machine in 1923. These playwrights and many others within the United States went on to write quite successful expressionist plays including Lajos Egri's Rapid Transit (play), first premiering in 1927, and Sophie Treadwell's Machinal, first premiering in 1928. Expressionism in theatre and drama has also experienced success in China and Spain. Notably, The Wilderness (play) by Cao Yu and Yama Zhao by Hong Shen were frequently produced in the 1920s and 1930s in China. Expressionism in Chinese theatre has recently experienced a resurgence in popularity since the 1980s.