postdramatiek

Postdramatiek (postdramatic theatre) is a term in theatre studies that describes a mode of stage practice which decouples performance from traditional dramatic texts and plot-driven structures. It emphasizes how meaning is produced through image, gesture, space, sound, and presence rather than through a central, authorial narrative.

The concept originates in German-speaking theatre discourse, most notably through Hans-Thies Lehmann’s influential framework Postdramatisches Theater, published in 1999. Lehmann argues that late 20th-century theatre moves beyond classical drama’s syntax—such as cause-and-effect plots, character-centric psychology, and a clear author’s voice—and favors heterogeneous, intermedial, and fragmentary forms. In Dutch-speaking contexts, the term is used as postdramatiek and has been integrated into theatre studies and practice in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Core features include non-linear or dispersed dramaturgy, decentered authorship, and an emphasis on performance phenomena where the actor’s presence is not merely to convey a literary text. Intermediality and the use of media, video, sound, and scenography are common, as is the audience’s role as a co-observer or participant in meaning-making. Works often blend theatre with dance, performance art, or documentary forms, and place greater focus on immediacy, perception, and ambiguity than on a single, coherent plot.

Practices associated with postdramatiek span ensemble performance, dance-theatre, performance art, and documentary or found-performance formats. The approach is linked to broader cultural shifts such as media saturation and globalization, though it has faced critique for being diffuse or difficult to define and for risking the eclipse of traditional theatre histories.