“
Krapp’s Last Tape” by
Samuel Beckett, directed by
Jarosław Fret (
Theatre ZAR, Poland) is a minimalist performance that asks questions about
Beckett and his virtual world. “Why he has placed a tape recorder in “
Krapp’s Last Tape”? Why bananas are the only organic thing in this play?” The sincerity of the actor
Alessandro Curti and his personal introducing monologue addressed to the public recharges our interest to this already classical text. It’s very unusual a Beckett’s play to start by demolishing the invisible wall between his hermetic world and us. The actor appears in the spectators zone, offers to some of us a banana and teaches us how to open it by 3 fast gestures (as required in the play). Can this short exercise make us ready for Beckett? Only after this preliminary part Alessandro Curti goes back to his territory and the performance begin. His Krapp has 2 desks and a barricade of boxes at the bottom of the stage. While he is recording, listening and destroying his tapes, his world is collapsing too – the barricade between him and the world is falling down. Nothingness is there, waiting for him.
A very successful closing of the festival days came from Comedy Theatre, Hungary with “
The good person of Szechwan” by
Brecht, directed by
Michal Dočekal. I have to admit that I never partuculary liked Brecht’s dramaturgy because I feel forced not only to think, but also what to think about man and mankind…
Michal Dočekal’s performance however is different. It has a dynamic rhythm of storytelling and we hardly feel it lasts 3 hours, there are no simplistic moralistic accents, pauses or traps. And what’s even more releasing – this performance does not condemn people for their weakness, but clearly and generously shows that they could also be honest and unselfish, according to situation. Man’s hypocrisy and moneygrubbing are ridiculed but clearly they are not the only human characteristics that matter. The visual language of the performance is also helping in this more complex reading of Brecht’s play. The moving stage platform changes our perspective and let us see the situation from a close-up plan or from a distance (set designer Martin Chocholouček). The actors also let their characters to have some recognizable human traits (even if they have white masks painted on their faces). All female characters, except Shen Te, are performed by male actors, probably in order to show that “it’s a man’s world” and one have to be tough in order to survive. It’s a profound performance that will remain in my memory at least till Interferenece-2018, when new provocations to our critical imagination will appear in Cluj.
Interferences 2016: “
The Stranger’s Odyssey” was oriented towards the large public, towards classical authors and their humanistic message to present spectators, towards the world outside theatre and its problems. It’s a courageous and responsible position. Thank you for the great experience!
Aglika Stefanova-Oltean (a stranger in Cluj)
