Review Article Theatre Research in the Nordic Countries (2000–2008)

This overview of theatre research in the Nordic countries presents some characteristic features that can be traced in recent scholarly publications. After explaining what ʹNordicʹ means in this context, the first section describes the marks that the general theoretical development in the field has made among notable Nordic scholars, especially in research on contemporary performances. ʹArtistic researchʹ is the Scandinavian equivalent to ʹpractice as researchʹ and this branch of research has recently advanced very quickly and along various organizational lines. The writing of theatre history, especially on the controversial issues of the i930sand 1940s, are investigated in the next section. Finally, the establishment of national theatre histories has proved to be highly political, especially in Sweden, where three histories ofSwedish theatre have been published in four years. In conclusion, the author expresses his optimistic view of the future of theatre studies in the Nordic countries.