Expressionist Architects - Theatres and Films

Theatres and Films

Europe witnessed a boom in theatrical production in the early twentieth century. In 1896 there were 302 permanent theatres in Europe, by 1926 there were 2,499. Cinema, witnessed a comparable increase in its use and popularity and a resulting increase in the number of picture houses. It was also able to provide a temporary reality for innovative architectural ideas.

Many architects designed theatres for performances on the stage and film sets for expressionist films. These were defining moments for the movement, and with its interest in theatres and films, the performing arts held a significant place in expressionist architecture. Like film, and theatre, expressionist architecture created an unusual and exotic environment to surround the visitor.

Built examples of expressionist theatres include Henry van de Velde's construction of the model theatre for the 1914 Werkbund Exhibition, and Hans Poelzig's grand remodelling of the Grosses Schauspielhaus. The enormous capacity of the Grosses Schauspielhaus enabled low ticket prices, and the creation of a 'peoples theatre'. Not only were expressionist architects building stages, Bruno Taut wrote a play intended for the theatre, Weltbaumeister.

Expressionist architects were both involved in film and inspired by it. Hans Poelzig strove to make films based on legends or fairy tales. Poelzig designed scenographic sets for Paul Wegener's 1920 film, Der Golem. Space in Der Golem was a three dimensional village, a lifelike rendering of the Jewish ghetto of Prague. This contrasts with the setting of the Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, which was painted on canvas backdrops. Perhaps the latter was able to achieve more stylistic freedom, but Poelzig in Der Golem was able to create a whole village that "spoke with a Jewish accent."

Herman Finsterlin approached Fritz Lang with an idea for a film. Fritz Lang's film Metropolis demonstrates a visually progressive 'Futurist' society dealing with relevant issues of 1920s Germany in relation to labour and society. Bruno Taut designed an unbuilt theatre for reclining cinema-goers. Bruno Taut also proposed a film as an anthology for the Glass Chain, entitled Die Galoschen des Glücks(The Galoshes of Fortune) with a name borrowed from Hans Christian Andersen. On the film, Taut noted, "an expressionism of the most subtle kind will bring surroundings, props, and action into harmony with one another." It featured architectural fantasias suited to each member of the Chain. Ultimately unproduced, it reveals the aspiration that the new medium, film, invoked.