Abstract

Theatrical Gestures of Belgian Modernism assembles a series of brilliant dramatic works issuing from a remarkably fecund modern period of artistic creation in Belgium. It includes dadaists like Clément Pansaers and Paul Joostens; surrealists like Paul Nougé, René Magritte, Paul Colinet, Fernand Dumont, and Marcel Mariën; expressionists like Michel De Ghelderode and Norge; and futurists like Georges Linze. In an introduction of great historical accuracy and detail, editor David Willinger guides the reader through the maze of modernist tendencies that blossomed, intersected, and combated throughout the first part of the twentieth century in Belgium. Many of these works, whose extraordinary iconoclasm defy presentation on a conventional stage, herald some of the more radical experiments in theatrical and dramatic craft later in the century.