Produktionsräume im zeitgenössischen Kinder- und Jugendtheater

Theatre for children and young people is perceived to a special degree as “spectators’ theatre”. But how is this actually reflected in theatrical practice? What levels of production and what aesthetic methods are used to address the audience? The focus of this study is the notion of “production space”, the idea of a relational space, linked to with the theoretical dramatic concept of performance as event. This production space of a performance is not determined only by the staging but also by existing and situational conditions. Based on five theatre productions for a young audience, the author develops a typology of different spatial concepts (theatre in a large space, theatrical installations, theatre in the classroom or nursery). At the same time, the comparative analysis of different production models documents the range of contemporary children’s and young people’s theatres in Germany (Theater an der Parkaue, Junges Schauspielhaus, Grips Theater, Helios Theater, Theater Kormoran). This book therefore offers an important contribution to the academic study of children’s and young people’s theatre and demonstrates that an engagement with its practice can be adapted for general theoretical discourse in theatre studies.