This book investigates the aesthetic and political dialectics of East Berlin to argue how its theatre and opera stages incited artists to act out, fuel and resist the troubled construction of political legitimacy. It will be of interest to scholars in theatre and performance studies, art history, music, German studies, and political science.

Jennifer Williams is a Fulbright Scholar and opera director. She holds a PhD in theater and performance studies from Cornell University and an AB from the University of Chicago.