The semiotics of curtain calls

This article examines an under-researched feature of the theatrical event, curtain calls, from a semiotic perspective. It argues that curtain calls demand the semiotician's special attention as they mark a threshold phase, the transition from the world of the play into that of the audience. In other words, two modes of semiotization coincide, and particular attention is devoted to how audiences navigate their way through this clash of semiotic modes both by convention and sheer theatrical instinct. Conversely, play-wrights, directors, and actors utilize this threshold phase as a means of validation and for claiming artistic ownership of the performance. Moreover, the curtain call can function as a communicative manifesto of a troupe's self-perception by, for instance, highlighting star-performers or emphasizing the troupe's cohesion as an ensemble. These general observations are complemented by two case studies, the conclusion of Peter Hall's production of Aeschylus' Oresteia (London 1981) and of Peter Handke's Publikumsbeschimpfung (Offending the Audience, Frankfurt 1966).