Images of Goethe Through Schiller's Egmont

Analysing a forgotten, unpublished performance script of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of Goethe's play Egmont, David John examines the collaboration between the two playwrights as a means of addressing fundamental questions on the roles of text and performance. He shows that performance, not text, constitutes the essence of dramatic and theatrical experience.

In addition to presenting a comprehensive analysis of the play and a discussion of Egmont's reception from its first appearance to the present (including productions on both stage and screen), John provides an in-depth performance analysis based on the theories of Alter, Burns, Carson, Fischer-Lichte, Goffman, Pavis, and Schechner. The book includes the complete Mannheim manuscript (M372), critically edited and published as a performance text for the first time.