SCS No. 50 (2023)
Articles
“THE CHORUS PERISHES” – ON ESTHER BOL’S THEATRE OF CATASTROPHE
Yana Meerzon
In his book Death in Modern Theatre (2019), Adrian Curtin discusses how representation of death changed in modern theatre after two catastrophic events of the mid-20th century – the Holocaust of the Jewish people and the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan. One such change relates to the devaluing of a human life. As warranted by wars, climate disasters, and other global crises, catastrophe makes death trivial, a mere fact of our existence, and so constantly recapped and heavily mediatized, catastrophe makes it impossible for us to grieve properly. Theatre of catastrophe, I argue, focuses its artistic investigation on the causes and consequences of mass destruction and death, it also documents social, political, and ethical processes that caused them. Yet, it often uses devices of sensationalism, melodrama, and affect to depict and transmit the sense of immediacy and disaster that catastrophe carries. The work of Esther Bol, Russian contemporary playwright, with a clear antiwar and pro-Ukrainian position, constitutes my case study. It allows me to examine how in the theatre of catastrophe the fate of many takes over the fate of one, and how this art form capitalizes on the sense of horror as experienced by the victims of mass death and on the sense of irredeemable guilt that a bystander feels, when watching the catastrophe unfolding in front of their eyes.
ENTRE-DEUX, IDENTITÉ EXILIQUE ET TRAGÉDIE DE L’HISTOIRE: FIGURES LITTÉRAIRES ET STRATÉGIES DE REPRÉSENTATION SCÉNIQUE
Nicoleta Popa Blanariu
In Between. Exilic Identity and Tragedy of History: Literary Characters and Performative Representation StrategiesIn this paper, I focus on some aspects and strategies of literary and theatrical representation which are involved in the highlighting of cultural differences, especially “in-between” spaces and identities, and their consequences in the life of communities. I base my study on several literary works and performances that range in time from Greek Antiquity up to our days. They develop topics like exile, migration, war, women rights, the right of asylum, gender discrimination, religious and ethnic persecution. Among them I would especially mention Aeschylus' Suppliants staged by director Silviu Purcărete and Exile in the Land of Forgetfulness, dance-theatre performance realized by Andreea Tănăsescu, based on Benjamin Fondane’s life and writings. My main purpose here is to provide a minimum corpus and, more precisely, an annotated corpus of literary and theatrical works and productions on topics relevant to the experience of exile. This approach is not however exhaustive, it’s a work in progress. I am now going on to explore such an area within a research project.
CATARINA AND THE NEW FORMULAS FOR EXPRESSING THE CONTEMPORARY TRAGEDY
Călin Ciobotari
There are theatre performances capable of contradicting the older sentences about the definitive death of tragedy and about the imposibility of authentic manifestation of the tragic on a contemporary theatre stage. The present paper is intended to be an analytical investigation of the ways in which Tiago Rodrigues' Catarina problematizes, by particular means, a theme of subtle catastrophes and the capacity of the modern spectator to intellectually experience new and uncomfortable formulas of the tragic.
LE RÔLE DU RÉFUGIÉ DANS LA REVUE ET DANS LE SPECTACLE MUSICAL
Konstantza Georgakaki
The role of the refugee in the revue and in the musical showIn Greece, after the disaster in Asia Minor, so-called light shows often include refugee women from Smyrna in their dramatic structure. The playwrights, in the 20th century, with a humorous tone, allowed this presence far from a dystopian atmosphere. This intervention tries to focus on the reasons for this way of integrating the role of the refugee and questions the difference in reception of the phenomenon in contemporary theatre.
THE IDEA OF HUMAN TRAGEDY ON GREEK CONTEMPORARY STAGE – THEATRE DIRECTORS OPENING A POLITICAL DIALOGUE
Eirini Polydorou
This paper aims at examining human catastrophe as represented in different casestudies of the contemporary theatre stage of Greece. The case studies include the play Iraq – Nine Parts of Desire, by Heather Raffo, presented in 2017 and in 2023 in Ergotaxion Theatre, in Athens Greece, the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet, produced in 2018 by the Greek National Opera and the play A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, produced in 2018 by the Greek National Theatre. In terms of methodology, the three different productions are examined under the same criteria, namely the play, the vision of the director, the means employed, possible challenges and perception of the play. According to the findings of the paper, despite differences among the performances in terms of the themes of the plays and the sizes of productions, audiences and spaces, artists shared a common critical view of today’s society embedded in the interpretation and staging of their plays, setting human tragedy on an overlap between stage and real-life, through different means, mainly scenography, costumes and method acting coaching. In the case-studies examined, the stage served as a space of political debate, as deliberately and creatively set by the relevant theatre directors.
REGARDER, SE LAISSER EMPORTER : LA CATASTROPHE VISIBLE ET TANGIBLE DANS LE THÉÂTRE DE ROMEO CASTELLUCCI
Beatrice Lăpădat
Watch, let yourself be carried away: the visible and tangible catastrophe in the theater of Romeo CastellucciIf Walter Benjamin stated that “the concept of progress must be grounded in the idea of catastrophe. That things are status quo is the catastrophe,” theatre director Romeo Castellucci invites spectators to understand the theatrical act both as a means to watch the catastrophe and a means to possibly activate a change within the “status quo”. In what concerns the treatment of the historical references in connection with the concept of “catastrophe”, these are often adapted and filtered through a dramaturgic transformation process, rendering the precise event in question hard to read in a literal manner. As for the aesthetic representation of the catastrophe, Castellucci plays with the codes of violence in a way that distances the spectators from the perception of what could qualified as shock value. It is from the entanglement of light and sound design with scenic objects and with a certain corporeal quality of presence that a sensual effect evoking the catastrophe is generated. Whether the spectators are exposed to events that they can more easily identify as wars, natural disasters or to an ambiguous but imminent threat that cannot be fully designated, the catastrophe in the theatre of Castellucci acts as a vehicle for both awareness and transportation. We will illustrate the hypostases of catastrophe in the stage work of Romeo Castellucci mostly in reference to the Tragedia Endogonidia cycle, Inferno, and his more recent performance Bros.
EXISTENCE AT THE CHALLENGE OF THE IMPOSSIBLE. CONTEMPORARY THEATRE AS A SYMBOLIC POUND OF FLESH
Noemina Câmpean
The present paper examines the back-and-forth exchange between Greek tragedy and contemporary theatre regarding the theme of violence, catastrophe, and existence at the challenge of the impossible. To put into words this impossible, I prefer to use the French version of the term, hors-sens, in order to describe what is opposed to the search of sense (hors-sens is also different from the nonsense), to describe what lies beyond any significance or meaning: the unbearable, the unendurable, the insufferable, the unimaginable, the insurmountable and so on. Contemporary theatre represents the art and the act of re-telling and not-leaving-behind; through its identificatory or repulsive side, contemporary theatre also requires a therapeutic and a psychoanalytic effect: not only for the audience, but also for the actresses/ actors or victims involved in the drama. My personal and psychoanalytic approach is that nowadays theatre transmits a symbolic pound of flesh, as a Shakespearian heritage and metaphor from his play, The Merchant of Venice. Finally, a substantial aim of this paper is to review how contemporary European stage directors deal with the nude condition of violence and hors-sens, therefore I will discuss three significant case studies – Milo Rau, Tiago Rodrigues and Pippo Delbono – with constant reference to some Lacanian major concepts from his clinical teaching: anxiety, pound of flesh, object (a), social bond, the triad the real, the symbolic, the imaginary and others.
TIME AND DISTANCE IN THE FACE OF CATASTROPHE AND ARTISTIC CREATION: A THEATRICAL EXPLORATION
Yeșim Özsöy
In this paper I will be exploring the importance of time and distance in relation to human catastrophes in terms of creating and presenting theatrical works to audience through my own personal perspectives and experiences as a writer/director. There will be four different personal examples: two plays, Old Child (2016) and Last World (2006) I wrote and directed, one project, Istanbul Testimonials I created in 2014 and questions and explorations for my new play Aksak or Delirium (pending name), in process of creation right now.
PASS-PORT: THE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE “PASSAGE” ON THE THEATRICAL STAGE
Leonidas Papadopoulos
The discussion aims to examine the methodological approach and the representation on stage of my doctoral research entitled “Sea Journeys in Ancient Greek Tragedy” (Kings College London 2016, supervised by Edith Hall) as a result of a workshop and the rehearsals that followed. The performance Pass-Port was performed at the theatre Argo in Athens, in November 20222. Focusing on the element of wanderings as a main axis of my study, the theoretical and practical aim of the research was to integrate the problematic of immigration and refugees, as well as the dynamics it shapes in the societies of the future through the wanderings of mortals, heroes and gods in ancient Greek tragedy. Moreover, the discussion will be focused on the dramaturgical procedure and the directorial choices regarding the stage representations, not only of the sea as a place of multiple dynamics, symbolism and interpretations, but also of the coast as a liminal space and a border between two homelands, life and death, nostos and nostalgia.
FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA, CARLOS SAURA ȘI ANTONIO GADES ÎN NUNTA ÎNSÂNGERATĂ : O ÎNTÂLNIRE TRANSMEDIALĂ
Elena Vrâncianu
The aim of this paper is to observe how Federico García Lorca’s tragedy is transposed from the literary to the cinematic medium. Conceived by director Carlos Saura as a cinematic reconstruction of a rehearsal of Antonio Gades’ ballet company, the film preserves the poetic atmosphere and symbolism of Lorca’s play, offering an exemplary cinematic interpretation of this story of love, tradition, destiny and death, a story similar to the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
INTER ȘI TRANSMEDIALITATE ÎN NUNTA ÎNSÂNGERATĂ
Giulia-Gabriela Cristea-Nechita
The text reveals that Federico García Lorca, delving into folklore, wrote the trilogy of rural tragedies: Blood Wedding, The House of Bernarda Alba, and Yerma. The 1981 film adaptation, directed by Carlos Saura and choreographed by Antonio Gades, adds a transmedial dimension by integrating theatrical elements and flamenco dance. The analysis highlights the use of empty space, the knife as a symbolic and recurring theme, and the relationship between the text and the film. Artistic innovations, such as the bride's white dress and the group photo of the wedding guests, stand out. The film brings to the forefront universal themes of love and couple drama, comparable to other literary works. The meeting between Lorca's play and the film represents a significant transmedial adaptation in Spanish culture, showcasing cultural diversity through flamenco dance and the artistic innovations of the director and choreographer
SUBJUGAREA VIEȚII PRIN TRADIȚIE ȘI SALVAREA ONOAREI PRIN VĂRSARE DE SÂNGE, DUPĂ PIESA NUNTA ÎNSÂNGERATĂ A LUI FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA
Ana-Adelina Poețelea
The Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca is a classic piece of contemporary Spanish drama. It is a tragic play in which two men fight for honor and the woman they love. The traditions and customs used by Federico García Lorca come from the gypsies of South America. The film is directed by Carlos Saura and the performance is done with the help of flamenco dance and pantomime. The relationships between the characters are observed with the help of flamenco dance, and the central motif is the figure, preceded by the leitmotif of the knife. In the Andalusian landscape, honor, sacrifice and sacrifice are above life itself.
Drama satului spaniol din perspectiva studiilor de gen
Magdalena Chitic
Ce travail analyse les éléments de transmédialité dans le spectacle de Antonio Gades et dans le film de Carlos Saura, réalisés d’après la célèbre pièce de Federico García Lorca, Bodas de sangre. Ainsi, une analyse comparative fera le but de cet article.
ADRIAN MARINO. COMPLEXE VINDICATIVE
Vasile Spiridon
Adrian Marino. Vindictive ComplexesThe drama of Adrian Marino's life was that of always living in environments he considered to be hostile, hence the numerous acts of non-acceptance and rejection that he had to suffer.Such circumstances led to the manifestation of his exacerbated pride, isolation and total lack ofcommunication or intellectual dialogue. The scale of values in which the renowned theorist ofliterature believed, starting with cultural and ideological values, was clearly distinct from that of the social and cultural environments he went through, willingly or unwillingly. Adrian Marino confesses in his memoirscontained in the volume "The life of a lonely man" ("Viața unui om singur") that being born and living in a hostile environment, where he felt like an intruder, alienated him definitively from his family, from the world and even from himself. This is exactly what this work aims to capture.
Recenzie 1
Adrian Jicu
Alex Goldiș, Zoom in/ Zoom out. Lecturi de critică și literatură contemporană, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Casa Cărții de Știință, Colecția Metacritic, 2023
Recenzie 2
Nicoleta Popa Blanariu
Comparatism şi World Literature Gheorghe Iorga, Sfidarea secundarului, Bucureşti, Tracus Arte, 2023