Slowly, a structure for the book is emerging and a number of key themes. It looks like my focus will be on the period from 1870 until today and the obvious place to start an investigation is the work and writings of Adolphe Appia. Until now, I have mostly written on relatively uncharted territories: contemporary theatre, current theatre practitioners and practices – it is both exciting and challenging to tackle this more historical and relatively well-trodden material, hoping to provide a new and original angle to it.
I am very interested in Appia's strong reliance and reference to the "score" as the central artistic and aesthetic driver and control mechanism. His continued references to Schopenhauer's notion of the "inner life" (inneres Weses), however, which music helps to express, I find less accessible - any thoughts welcome!
