A Brief History of Timing: Musical Logic and the Theatre of Robert Wilson

Abstract

This article explores theories in Music Studies in order to offer a close analysis of one of the leading New Formalist theatre directors, Robert Wilson. It charts Wilson’s rehearsal process from the early stages of his table workshops to the actual live performances. It pulls from archival footage, documents and correspondences in order to offer historical instances of collaboration in order to explore ideas of fixed and composed time in the fictive cosmos of Wilson’s stage space. The aim of this analysis is to shift the focus away from the narration and a transaction of meaning with in Wilson’s work and to find dramaturgical links in the composition and structure of his theatre instead.