José de Alencar e o teatro: Um romântico realista

José de Alencar (1829-1877) is more known by the public reader by his novels. However, Alencar was also one of the most famous Brazilian playwright of nineteenth century's second half, with a work marked by successes, failures and controversies. This article intends to study an important part of his work, especially the beginning of his actions towards the still incipient Brazilian theatre in his chronic Ao correr da pena, as well as the analysis of two plays, O demônio familiar (1857), and As asas de um anjo (1857). These works not only show his public's success and failure, but also his flair for controversy. By using as theoretical basis João Roberto Faria and Martin Esslin, as well as other literary and theatre theorists, it will be shown that, although he defended French realism in theatre and used proceedings related to the genre, such realism, on his plays, was mixed with romantic solutions what made his work unique.

Raun Raun Theatre, Goroka

View to theatre from landscape.

Raun Raun Theatre, Goroka

View to theatre from landscape.

Raun Raun Theatre, Goroka

View to theatre from landscape.

Roof structure internal, Raun Raun Theatre, Goroka

View of carved king post.

Seating area interior, Raun Raun Theatre, Goroka

View of seating area from theatre interior.

Ceiling interior, Raun Raun Theatre, Goroka

View of carved king post from interior.

Ceiling interior, Raun Raun Theatre, Goroka

View to underside of thatched roof with king post and bracing.

Australia’s Lily Brayton: Performer and theatre artist

Recognition is the aim of this account of an artist who is now remembered largely for her beauty, her wide iconic fame achieved by mass distribution of her image via photography and postcards, and her professional association with a internationally prominent producer who was also her husband. It is however a historically situated study, confining itself to readings of the kind of theatrical, social and cultural work performed by Brayton's presence in a rapidly-modernising Australia during the period between Federation in 1901 and the first World War, which event marks a disjuncture in the patterns of entertainment and cultural discourse in the new nation. Pre-war Australian theatre and vaudeville managements competed vigorously to secure the most acclaimed artists, seeing it as a kind of service and duty to boost their country's prestige along with their own coffers. Meanwhile, local playwrights and producers promoted a burgeoning repertoire of Australian dramas and films which played alongside the imported products in a complex network of cultural codes and affects.

TOWARDS A BENJAMINIAN ANTHROPOLOGY: RETHINKING PARADIGMS OF DRAMATIC THEATRE

This essay is presented as a Benjaminian work site. The juxtaposition of apparently distant figures in brusque and surprising relations may well cause puzzlement. But the affinities are revealing. In the whirlpools of Michael Taussig`s studies, I search for a theoretical composition in counterpoint: on one side, Victor Turner and Clifford Geertz, whose writings possibly lead us to think of a kind of paradigm of the dramatic theatre in anthropology, and, on the other, two figures on the margins of anthropology and the dramatic theatre - Walter Benjamin and Bertolt Brecht. The essay`s gravitational force is located on these margins, especially the fragmented work of Benjamin. In short, this is an essay towards a Benjaminian anthropology, organized around three allegories: (1) magic mirror; (2) shattering; and (3) flashes of light. In some ways, the journey suggests the form of an unusual rite of passage: the passage towards a passing condition.