Network Perspectives in a Symmetric Research Approach

International theatre festivals are now a dominant phenomenon and have significantly influenced global theatre production since the 1980s. The Edinburgh International Festival and the International Festival in Avignon were established after World War II to enforce intercultural, predominately European exchanges, and other festivals focusing on specific themes or authors (such as Shakespeare) can be found all over Europe. Given the diversity of this “international theatre festival” phenomenon, it seems fruitful to analyze the sustained practice of coproduction between international artists, festivals, and production venues that has emerged within the context of postcolonial criticism over the last three decades. The initial post-WWII function of festivals to represent various national, mostly European cultures, has gradually shifted towards festivals as co-producers of international work. Therefore, festivals appear as influential players in professional networks to establish and circulate aesthetic approaches in contemporary theatre practice. However, what is the nature of the relationship between international festivals and local theatre landscapes? And how could this relationship be investigated?
The paper deals with methodological questions of how transcultural working practices since the 1980s can be adequately analyzed and focuses on the social science method of network analysis and visualization. In particular, the paper discusses how network analysis can be used to cast alternative perspectives on professional production networks and to shed light on the variety of collaborative working methods in contemporary theatre.