Embodied Memory: The Theatre of George Tabori (Studies Theatre Hist & Culture) [Hardcover]

Anat Feinberg (Author)

Book Description

Series: Studies Theatre Hist & Culture | Publication Date: December 1, 1999

Making use of invaluable archival material, Feinberg's biographical account is followed by a study of Tabori's experimental theatre work. As did prominent avant-gardists such as Grotowski or Chaikin, Tabori sought to open up new vistas in an otherwise mainstream theatre system. Feinberg pays special attention to Tabori's theatrical innovations, most movingly found in his Holocaust plays. There Feinberg shows the ways in which Tabori's theatre becomes a locus of remembrance (Gedächtnisort) and of unique, engaging memory-work (Erinnerungsarbeit).

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

George Tabori had a notable influence on modern German theater. A Jew born in Budapest in 1914, he spent his formative years in Hollywood and New York, where he did not have much success. (His most famous work from this period was his collage, Brecht on Brecht.) Achievement came with his return to Germany in 1969. Beginning with a biographical sketch and a review of Tabori's theatrical methodology and theories, Feinberg (Hebrew and Jewish lit., University for Jewish Studies, Heidelberg, Germany) surveys his work for the German stage as actor, director, and writer, his Shakespeare productions, and, most significantly, his Holocaust plays--The Cannibals, My Mother's Courage, and Mein Kampf. Though not himself a survivor, Tabori lost some of his immediate family to the camps, and his plays call for a catharsis through memory of all who lived through and after the Holocaust. We need an anthology of these plays soon. Recommended for academic libraries, especially those with special collections in theater.
-Thomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., MA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"George Tabori is one of the hidden masters of Jewish culture in the latter half of the twentieth century. . . . Anat Feinberg's book is the first comprehensive attempt to chronicle his career and his works. An original and readable book that makes Tabori available for the first time in his complex and contradictory brilliance." -- Sander Gilman, Henry R. Luce Distinguished Service Professor of the Liberal Arts in Human Biology, University of Chicago

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: University Of Iowa Press; 1 edition (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877456860
• ISBN-13: 978-0877456865
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #713,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars "Theatre of Remembrance", December 2, 2001

By 

Emily Ford (Reed College, Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Embodied Memory: The Theatre of George Tabori (Studies Theatre Hist & Culture) (Hardcover)

Feinberg's work is an excellent collection of biographical data and Tabori's antecdotes. Her writing is captivating, although at times her analysis is not quite clear or simply not complete. However, she does offer a huge sampling of themes prevalent in Tabori's work. The book is a good source for Taboriisms and feeling Tabori's spirit.

5.0 out of 5 stars The first English edition studying this Jewish dramatist, September 2, 2001

By 

K. Corn "reviewer" (midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Embodied Memory: The Theatre of George Tabori (Studies Theatre Hist & Culture) (Hardcover)

I snapped this one up as soon as I found it since there are no other books in English (at least, that I know of) which focus on this controversial Jewish-Hungarian playwright. I'd consider this one a must for those interested in Jewish drama, literature and/or Holocaust studies.
Tabori's drama was often more avant-garde than traditional and frequently shocking and provocative. One play, Cannibals, portrayed concentration camp inmates who were prepared to eat another inmate to survive and others of his "Holocaust" (Jubilee, My Mother's Courage, Mein Kampf) are equally revolutionary and non-conventional.
The author, Anat Feinberg, uses archival material to round out this well-written and detailed portrait of an unusual dramatist. There is also a photo section which I found captivating and quite interesting.