"Freedom of being Art" / THE HEART OF CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

In the afternoon in the Tranzit House we discussed of something totally different. In the essential and full of significances frame of a place such as the Tranzit House, the translation of three masterpieces was presented: “ Theater and Ritual.Essential Writings” by J. Grotowski, translated in romanian by V. Moga and G. Banu,“ The Empty Space” by P.Brook, translated by M. Andronescu, and least but not last “The Work of the Actor on Himself” by S.Stanislavski, translated by R.Radulescu.

While the orators were discussing about the importance of this Theatre Bibles, my mind went away to the numerous numbers of performances and theatre plays I have watched so far, trying to remind works based on one of the three theatre gurus. Sometimes I watched famous television characters being so brave to ridicule themselves just walking on a theatre stage, it was at the end when the audience clapped at them that I have never understood if it is to hearten them for the massive effort done or it was because the little coloured box is shaping our critics taste. Other times I was so lucky to watch great actor taking and remodelling classical piece in an excellent way. Some others I witness to experimental performance full of grace and wit, many others I watched people making something and call it performance. The edge between what is Art and what it is not is very flexible, the same nature of Art which wants Her free from any fence and construction could be sometimes tricky and dangerous. Then it is possibly true that we still need to read the classics to understand and create new. If for a second a doubt raised in my mind about the utility to stuck on the classics, after thinking about the risk that theatrical art is running then I assumed that it would be probably better to keep reading them and as the professor Banu said “ it is better to know what you do not like instead of saying you do not like something without ever trying it”   

Paola Faraca

THE HEART OF CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

After five days spent next to the stage, I can say that Interferences is bringing to Cluj the heart of contemporary theatre, being a magnificent example of freedom of expression which is utterly multicultural and various.  

During this period of time, I had in fact the occasion to attend shows, all very different from one another, each of them giving voice to a particular sensitivity and way of considering theatre in the current era. I am amazed by the international atmosphere everybody can breathe after stepping into the theatre hall. It feels like being in a Babel where languages such as English, French, Italian, Hungarian, Romanian, German and many other mix and somehow become one by using the same “international language” of the performance.

The events I followed yesterday were stunning and enriching, the first one challenging in its semantic complexity; the second one romantic; the last one absolutely provocative and striking. What interconnects them is exactly this great freedom and innovative research, which makes Interferences so contemporary and appealing.

The dialogue with the creators of the performance “Songs of Wilhelm”, directed by Josef Nadj, unveiled the fascinating multiplicity of autobiographical, philosophical and intellectual references that nourish the piece written by the Hungarian vanguard poet and playwright Ottό Tolnai. Josef Nadj expressed so much passion when he said: “I am thirsting for the performance, which I try to innovate, to speak from the stage”.

The following venue, the launch of the three books written by the eminent professor and essayist George Banu, was very interesting. For me it was romantic, as well. While following the presentation I had the feeling that memories, reflexion, personal research, great love for theatre and places, sincerity and honesty are the cardinal points of these pieces of writing.

In “Monologues of un-fulfilment”, George Banu tries to understand the reasons why he did not become an actor, a writer or a professor. More extensively, why “some men are not to become somebody and they find instead the way to become something else”. He actually used to be a university professor but a special one, calling into question the idea of teaching, trying to not “inflict ideas” to his students or giving them truth or certainties; while explaining these, he beautifully quoted Oscar Wilde’s words “Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught”.

“The modern stage. Miniatures and mythologies” is a journey where Banu, our guide, illustrates the recurrent leitmotifs present in the work of some stage directors. The miniatures are here little essays about theatre. In the last book launched, “Personal Paris. Places and theatres”, George Banu draws a personal, emotional map of places illustrated by the photographs of Mihaela Marin.

Later in the afternoon I went to the Hungarian Theatre Studio to watch “Christmas at the Ivanovs”, directed by András Urban. I didn’t know this play or the title which suggests ironically, a reassuring and cosy atmosphere. When the lights were low, the stage was immediately filled by a series of aggressive characters, who introduced themselves shouting. They were the seven children, aged one to eighty-two, of the Ivanovs couple.  The murder of Sonya, beheaded with an axe by the nanny, determines a process that will end with an illogic chain of suicides. During the play, statements against the state, religion and the institutions in general were repeated like in a revolution, it was a sort of temporary uprising where the destroying act of “the revolutionary” and even sexual equality were exalted. A flame of rebellion pervaded the stage while intense images - with explicit sexual content - were offered to the audience.

Apart from absurdity, it seems to me that violence is the dominant note of the whole play: in the actors’ bodies which are pretty much exposed to the eye of the spectator, in their movements, words and attitudes towards each other. I found this disturbing, but very effective in the capacity to grab attention and emotional participation. In the end of the performance, when the lights were on again, I saw at least three people crying.
 

Aleksandr Vvedensky (1904-1941), the author of this interesting piece, died in a Soviet prison in 1941. He was a representative of the Russian Absurdist movement and member of OBERIU (acronym for “The Association for Real Art”). In his view, reality was illogic and absurd and art had to reflect this condition. "Christmas at the Ivanovs" shows indeed the absurdity of the world and satirizes not only the institutions, but also reason, language, sentimentality, story-telling and perhaps the theatre itself.  

Francesca Moschitta