Podoba a funkcie súčasnej slovenskej divadelnej dramaturgie po roku 2000 – premosťovanie rokov deväťdesiatych
The character and function of contemporary Slovak theatre dramaturgy after 2000: transitioning from the 1990s

Summary/Abstract: Since the 1990s Slovak theatre has been affected by several phenomena: the changing attitude of the public to theatrical art, who seems to be losing interest in this art form, the degradation of the systematic, conceptual, artistic and forming function of the dramaturge, and the loss of an in-house dramaturge or director who would be consistent in performing this function. Theatrical space has been filled with freelance artists wandering from theatre to theatre, offering attractive productions or adopting them on the impulse of theatre managements. We witness the strengthening of the powers of directors and art directors who often succumb to commercial and operational pressures, but also their personal tastes and convictions. Secondly, we witness the continuing trend of ‘directorial theatre.’ Individual theatres still prefer working on projects, and therefore, the repertory depends on the offer of guest directors, who bring their own dramaturges to the theatres, sometimes not being familiar with wider context or lacking the ambition to work with the theatre company and the audience in the long term. We also witness a disruption in cooperation between a theatre’s dramaturge andtranslators, authors, visual artists and so on. Only few dramaturges have their own workshops that enable them to have a systematic and long-lasting cooperation, for example, with authors writing new plays or directors preparing new productions. The beginning of the new millennium was marked by the occurrence of very similar tendencies in most professional theatres. Their dramaturgy is not individualized or engaged – both theatrically and socially. Changes are happening only very slowly. The repertory in all theatres mostly consisted of two components: plays that had an artistic mission in mind and plays that had the commercial potential to sell out the auditorium. As a result of changes in organization and the funding system, theatres continue to struggle for money and audience. After the period of dramaturgical intransparency and after the years of searching, we gradually witness relatively successful attempts at profiling depending on the regional and territorial peculiarities of individual theatres (for example, the Arena Theatre in Bratislava, Andrej Bagar Theatre in Nitra and the Slovak Chamber Theatre in Martin). Memory, history, personal and national identity, responsibility for one’s past, albeit the darker one, cultural roots seem to have been of crucial importance for Slovak theatre-makers in recent years. They have been taking a stance on current affairs and developments and modern society’s problems, and these themes help them connect with their audiences and the professional public.

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