Die Internationale Ausstellung neuer Theatertechnik in Wien 1924 im Spiegel der polnischen Theaterkritik
Dreams of Spaces. The International Exhibition of New Theatre Techniques in Vienna 1924 in the Mirror of Polish Theatre Criticism

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the reception of the International Exhibition of New Theatre Technique, organized by Friedrich Kiesler in 1924, among Polish critics and reviewers. Polish observers represent a skeptical attitude towards spatial experiments shown at the exhibition – they accuse the authors of avant-garde projects of utopianism and aesthetic chaos. Favorable Poles evaluated only the designs of Russian artists and the model of the stage by Oskar Strnad. This critical evaluation of the exhibition may seem surprising. Kiesler‘s exhibitions brought together theater artists from all over Europe for the first time and presented designs and models on a large scale. Kiesler, who invoked the idea of a theatrical exhibition, made the stage a place of exchange and inspiration, especially for European futurists and expressionists. The importance of these concepts for the development of stage design, technology and theater architecture in the 20th century is undisputed. What’s more, many of them are crucial to modern stage design. The projects also had an impact on Polish theater avant-garde, exemplifying the design of the Simultaneous Theatre of Andrzej Pronaszko and Szymon Syrkus, which is clearly inspired by the Oskar Strnad project.

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