Jackie Smart writes:
"This book investigates a field of performance that operates between music and theatre,
examining ways in which compositional principles drawn from music have been applied
to theatrical performance, and theatrical thinking has influenced musical composition. It
arises from two symposia organized by the editors at Exeter and Hildesheim universities which brought together academics and practitioners, and this starting point is reflected
in the composition of the book through the way it brings together a diverse range of
voices and perspectives, appropriately conveying the sense of scholars and artists engaged
in ongoing debate about a developing form.
[…] The practitioners represented
in Part Two constitute an impressive list, including Heiner Goebbels, Michael Hirsch,
Jörg Laue, George Rodosthenous and Nicholas Till. Their engaging accounts illuminate
the theoretical arguments of Part One and extend the book’s relevance and interest to
anyone concerned with the messy, fascinating processes of collaborative creation. The
‘portraits’ of practitioners in Part Three bring into focus the key role of the performer
as a creative contributor and highlight the presence of the personal within composed
theatre, from the ‘biographical origins’ of Ruedi Häusermann’s inspiration to Daniel
Ott’s interest in working with the personalities of his musicians. Part Four contains
an intriguing selection of excerpts of discussions from the symposia and a concluding
discourse analysis by Roesner in which he draws out and interrogates key principles and
themes of this fascinating form of theatre-making. It is a style of performance of which
I have had little direct experience but the book made me want to hear and see more."
Always great to read that someone enjoyed the book, found it engaging and useful – made my day!
