The forms of popular and mass theater developed in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany reached back to classical antiquity to reinvent theater as a secular rite. At first glance, the use of the theatrical medium is at odds with the classicizing monumentality that characterized the cultural expression of fascist regimes. Theatrical performances are by their very nature ephemeral events; unlike monuments, they do not leave their mark on civic space, and can barely provide a testament to generations to come. Drawing on performance theory and cultural history, the author argues that these antiquity-inspired performances provided powerful sites of re-enacting the myth of national rebirth. Fascist regimes used open-air theaters and forms modelled on Greek theater, whilst also tapping into the notions of performance that had been developed within the traditions of the theatrical vanguard to offer the experience of a reborn past. These performances brought forth grandiose visions of classical antiquity through living bodies and helped to embed the imagined past into a mythicized present. The intertwining between the theatrical medium and classical reception allow us to demonstrate the significance of embodied practices in shaping fascism’s political radicalism.

法西斯意大利和纳粹德国发展起来的大众戏剧形式可以追溯到古典时期，将戏剧重塑为一种世俗仪式。乍一看，戏剧媒介的使用与法西斯政权文化表达的古典纪念性是不一致的。戏剧表演本质上是短暂的事件。与纪念碑不同，它们不会在公民空间中留下印记，也几乎无法为子孙后代提供证明。作者借鉴表演理论和文化史，认为这些受古代启发的表演为重演民族重生的神话提供了有力的场所。法西斯政权使用露天剧院和仿照希腊戏剧的形式，同时也利用了戏剧先锋传统中发展起来的表演概念，以提供重生的过去的体验。这些表演通过活生生的身体呈现出古典古代的宏伟景象，并有助于将想象中的过去嵌入到神话化的现在中。戏剧媒介与古典接受之间的交织使我们能够展示具体实践在塑造法西斯主义政治激进主义方面的重要性。