{"id":271,"date":"2016-02-17T19:18:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T19:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/3\/?p=271"},"modified":"2022-05-29T09:20:47","modified_gmt":"2022-05-29T09:20:47","slug":"incendiary-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/3\/incendiary-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Incendiary Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ludmila Patlanjoglu<\/strong>[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\"1052742569\"<\/p>\n

Theatre companies and artists coming from 70 countries, 350 events, top and patrimony performances, exhibitions, book releases, conferences, workshops, 25,000 tickets sold.<\/i><\/p>\n

The Host of this whole event: Constantin Chiriac, President of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival (Romania)<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cQuestions\u201d <\/i>was the topic of the 17th edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival: questions about us, about life and death, joy and sorrow, love and hate, good and bad, Creator and Creation, in this festival of festivals where theatre, dance, music, painting, photography and poetry met.<\/p>\n

A huge cultural construction about which famous director Peter Brook declared:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy? Why? <\/b><\/i><\/b>is a show that I love very much. I\u2019m glad it can be followed within the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu that by its large dimension and diversity imposed as a peak of the Romanian theatre and became a point of reference for the European theatre\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There were numerous attractive moments. The star of this edition was Eugenio Barba, a living legend of the contemporary theatre. In a conference that coincided with the release of a book\u2014Theatre. Solitude. Craft. Revolt<\/i>\u2014that presents an atrocious and sublime biography, <\/i><\/b>this famous theatre personality addressed the audience two upsetting questions: \u201cCan theatre protect us from history? Can it be an island of liberty?\u201d <\/i>And his shows incitingly illustrated these dilemmas: Ode to the Progress <\/i>(a dramatic fantasy danced with imaginary animals, gnomes, trolls, fairies) and The Jail for Bones<\/i>, a reading of Kafka\u2019sProcess <\/b><\/i>in the perspective of the Bible.<\/p>\n

Japanese famous artist Oriza Hirata led us through an instructive and fascinating journey into the Japanese theatre with the performance Notes from Tokyo <\/i>that turned out to be homage to the masterpiece of film director Yasujiro Ozu Story from Tokyo<\/i>. It was an emotionally quest through Kafka\u2019sThe Metamorphosis<\/i> in the provocative vision of the Japanese Company Mode.<\/p>\n

The presence of Romanian artists was powerful. Silviu Purc\u0103rete appeared on the program with three anthological performances: Faust<\/i> (praised and awarded at the Edinburgh Festival), Metamorphosis <\/i>after Ovidiu (Sibiu Theatre) and The Woman who Lost her Garters <\/b><\/i>by <\/i><\/b>Eugene Labiche (The Comedy Theatre \u2013 Bucharest), a scenic jewelry that premiered in the framework of this Festival. Mihai M\u0103niu\u0163iu conquered the audience with two performances inspired by Antique theatre: the first one was Electra<\/i>, <\/i><\/b>set in <\/i><\/b>Sibiu, where Elada meets the Romanian folklore represented by the well-known Transylvanian band Grupul Iza; the other, The<\/i> Bacchantes, <\/b><\/i>set at the Municipal Theatre and coming from Istanbul <\/i><\/b>is a confrontation between Euripides and the liberty and violence that surround us nowadays. The creation of the director was happily completed by the launching of the volume Mihai M\u0103niu\u0163iu. The Chameleonic Space, <\/b><\/i>by Cristina Modreanu. Among the outstanding presences we should also mention Alexandru Dabija with the excellent production Pyramus &Thisbe 4 you, <\/b><\/i>after <\/i><\/b>Shakespeare, at the Odeon Theatre \u2013 Bucharest.<\/p>\n

Beauty and Human Truth<\/b><\/p>\n

Among young directors, we should mention Radu Alexandru Nica who made a strong impression withBreaking the Waves <\/b><\/i>after Lars von Trier\u2019s movie (\u201cRadu Stanca\u201d Theatre \u2013 Sibiu). This show was a perfect occasion for two admirable performances: the actress Ofelia Popii (awarded this year at the Edinburgh Festival for the role Mephisto in Faust<\/i>, directed by Silviu Purc\u0103rete) and the stage designer Drago\u015f Buhagiar (also the designer of the trophy of the Thalia Prize for IATC). Young director Geanina C\u0103rbunariu impressed the audience with a polyglot performance for Romanians and Hungarians (set at Yorick Studio), thus highlighting the interethnic confrontations from T\u00e2rgu Mure\u015f, Romania after 1989. Its setting was awarded The Critic\u2019s Prize \u2013 IATC of the Romanian Section.<\/p>\n

Top moments of the edition were the Recitals. Autobiographic testimonies about life and art Why? Why?<\/b><\/i>by Peter Brook, having as protagonist the actress Miriam Goldschmidt, and June Stor, <\/b><\/i>by famous Pippo Delbono as author and interpreter that profoundly impressed the audience by its refinement, beauty and truth.
\nThe puppeteers had a valuable messenger in the Chinese Troupe Quanzhou Marionette which initiated us spectacularly in a millenary art.<\/p>\n

Theatre-Dance and Music sections of the Festival offered much audio-visual seduction. The Water, the Holocaust, the Businessman, the Samurai, Depeche Mode music, the Flamenco rhythms, the play Woyzeck<\/b><\/i>by Georg B\u00fcchner were presented in hypnotizing images by famous companies: Motionhouse, Misashi Mishiro Jazz Dance, Kibutz Contemporary Dance, Company Rafaela Carrasco, Odeon Theatre – Bucharest.<\/p>\n

\"Ofelia
Ofelia Popii and Marius Turdeanu in Breaking the Waves, Dir. Alexandru Nica, The Sibiu International Theatre Festival
\u00a9 Mihaela Marin & TNRS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mariana
Mariana Mihua and Ofelia Popii in Electra, Dir. Mihai Manutiu \u00a9 Mihaela Marin & TNRS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Georges
Georges Banu et Eugenio Barba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pippo
Pippo Delbono<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Cultural and Managerial Model<\/b>
\nThe audience spent unforgettable evenings with classical or modern music, be it Indian, Brazilian, African, hip hop, pop rock, folk, gypsy jazz or tango. Ursulla Philippi received applauses and an enthusiastic welcoming, as well as bands like La Follia, Holograf, Vama, Zdob \u015fi Zdub, Ensemble Renaissance, Stockholm Lisboa Projeckt, Arte y Pureza Flamenco Company.<\/p>\n

Popular performances for all ages were presented as open air productions. Acrobats, mimes, musicians, dancers on stilts, snake tamers, fire swallowers, magicians coming from all over the world performed everywhere, using as stage the night sky, market places, gardens, t roofs of the houses, towers of the cathedrals, streets.<\/p>\n

Privileged offers for the audience and professionals were the Book Fair Sibiu Bookfest 2010, the lecture-performances, the workshops, the Performance Stock.<\/p>\n

Many of these meetings and conferences\u2014with personalities from Romania and abroad\u2014reached an important intellectual elevation and were emotionally engaging.<\/p>\n

Other top moments were the extraordinary conference Art Theatre <\/i>or Form and Life<\/i> and the launching of the book The Art Theatre, a Modern Tradition <\/b><\/i>(Nemira Publishing House). The author of these two events was distinguished theatre critic and University Professor Georges Banu, the Honorary President of IATC.<\/p>\n

Therefore this was indeed a most favorable edition. In the art of asking \u201cQuestions\u201d, President Constantin Chiriac proved a master, and the Festival of Sibiu offered itself as a cultural and managerial model.<\/p>\n

\"Bombay
Bombay Baja: Indian Brass Band<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Carros
Carros de Foc: Spanish Street Theatre Company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cirque
Cirque Bijou Company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Constantin
Constantin Chirac, President of the Subiu International Theatre Festival<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Eugenio
Eugenio Barba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Masashi
Masashi Michiru<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Metamorphosis,
Metamorphosis, directed by Silviu Purcarete<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ode
Ode to Progress, directed by Eugenio Barba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Quanzhou
Quanzhou Marionette troupe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Salamandre
Salamandre Theatre: Fire Performances<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Scattered
Scattered (Motionhouse Theatre)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Silviu
Silviu Purcarete<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Transe
Transe Express (Street Art Company)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

<\/a>[1] Ludmila Patlanjoglu<\/b> is Theatre critic and historian, as well as University Professor and Head of the Theatre Science Department at the \u201cI. L. Caragiale\u201d National University of Drama and Film Arts in Bucharest, Romania. She was President of IATC- Romanian Section (1999-2008) and Member of IATC\u2019s Executive Committee (2001-2007). She is currently honorary member of the IATC – Romanian Section board (2008 – present) and a Member of the Romanian Theatre Artists\u2019 Association (UNITER). She directed the 2002 and 2003 editions of the \u201cI. L. Caragiale\u201d National Theatre Festival in Romania and the 21st Congress of IATC organized in Bucharest (November, 2003). She launched the IATC\u2019s THALIA Prize (whose trophy was designed by Dragos Buhagiar) and is a Member of Editorial Board of the Critical Stages<\/i>, a web journal edited by IATC.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9<\/strong> 2010 Ludmila Patlanjoglu
\nCritical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This work is licensed under the
\nCreative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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