Hello everyone!
Sorry for the delay and sorry that this is going to be a small offering this week. I wanted to give you something else which I think you’ll enjoy.
These aren’t my selections this week, but shows shared with me by some friends I made whilst at Nowy Teatr’s Summer Camp, a two week residency where we formed a collective of artists from across Europe to explore ideas around what new rules the world will offer us and we will create in the future. I don’t want to go too much into details about it but if it is on again next year, I urge you to go. Your heart, mind and body will leave full of love and knowledge.
One of my favourite parts of the residency was talking to other artists about shows,art or makers that they love. Seeing and hearing people talk enthusisatically about art, giving you space to colour in the numbers for the art they create is such a joy. I could spend hours just listening to people get fanatical about theatre. Gesturing wildly to an imaginary stage in front of them, the gust of air their arms just made recreating a stage design or their little fingers taking the role of an ensemble.
The three below are shows or artists shared by friends.
(A)pollonia by Krzysztof Warlikowski
shared by Barbora Chovancová
I was aware of Warlikowski by name alone before arriving to Nowy on the first day. I knew that he had a small but strong following in the UK but that was about it. Coming to Poland, I soon realised he was THE director. We were given tickets to see Odyseja. Historia dla Hollywoodu and there was definitly a buzz among the summer camp cohort. Young directors from eastern europe comparing times sat in various audiences and discovering that the person they are sharing their story was also in the same audience. Rankings of his work. It felt like people trading football stickers.
I liked the show. The collages made of cinema, traditional jokes and fictionilised encounters between philiophersers grafted together a look at contemporary jewish idenity and how it’s been cultivated by its representations in art in a contemplative yet spectaular way. Some moments had my jaw on the floor with its genius dramaturgy, allowing spaces for your mind to expand in the theatre. But, I got the impression that this isn’t exactly “new”. It’s an new-ish show but something felt off. This message felt new and alive but the median felt a bit dead. The best way I can describe it is that it felt like watching a brick on stage. A big brick. A really cool brick. You understand exactly what it’s function is and you know that it won’t change. It can be used for a variety of functions but it’s not going to be used in a new way. Becuase it’s a big brick, a spectacular brick, you can see it’s fibres connected, showing its inner workings. First you’re like “wow that brick is cool!” But then you realise that its still just a brick and that it hasn’t changed its use or function for years. It just remains a brick. A brick that was made big with the use of a lot of money to hide the fact that it is just a brick.
This bad, confusing metaphor is my review of Odyseja.
After the show I got chatting to Barbora Chovancová, a director from the Czech Republic. She mentioned that maybe this wasn’t his best show and that I should try and seek out A(pollonia). It clicked in my head, I know who Warlikowski is becuase of the european theatre club on twitter and was gutted that I missed A(pollonia). Barbora shrugged her shoulders and said no worries. When I got home, there was a link waiting for me for a stream with english subtitles. I get to watch A(pollonia) now and that’s becuase of Barbora ‘s vast knowledge of theatre streaming websites.
Thank you Barbora
Via Intolleranza II by Christoph Schlingensief
shared by Piotrek Pacześniak
After a discussion with the centre of political beauty, I had my first proper chat with Piotrek Pacześniak, a director from Poland. We talked about these ideas of art being useful and these, almost prank-esque art shows where the blending of reality and ficiton in blurred as a form of criticisim. I talked about the Yes Men and how they apologised for Bhopal disaster on international television, then Laura Jaanhold, a director from Estonia, jumped in and talked about Teatr NO99’s Ash and Money and what it felt like being there. Piotrek began talking about Christoph Schlingensief and from the first story of how he faked a political party I was hooked. Researching futher I was shocked I’d never come across this artist before. This chat with Piotrek opened a door to discover something new that I can see myself getting over hyped about. He didn’t share this show but after finding an archive of his work, this show jumped out to me the most…and it also had subtitles
thank you Piotrek for telling me about Christoph Schlingensief
Late night by Blitz Theatre Group
shared by Prodromos Tsinikoris and Zoe Sigalou
Zoe Sigalou, a writer and actor from Greece, and I first met at a workshop ran by Greek theatre maker Prodromos Tsinikoris. In his workshop, Prodromos offered throughts and reflections on how collectives can be formed, from sharing intimate details of each other to listening and reacting to proposals, adapting them to claim them as a group. As a form to play with, Prodromos offered us a piece by Blitz Theatre Group called Galaxy. This gave this new formed collective a skeleton to give flesh to, we patched its new layer with our own languages and stories and spent 2 hours improvising a show with 18 indivudal voices, tucked away in the old classrooms of Komuna. It was so gorgeous and oh god I want to spend at least one day a week doing something like what I experienced in that workshop. Making without any pressures with a large group of people, getting the chance to jump in and out of the water whenever it felt safe or choppy. Zoe and I made friends but unfortantly, after this workshop, our schedules clashed and we didn’t get to be part of the same collective again. The energy Podromos gave to us meant that those in that workshop, regardless of timetable, always were sharing and caring for and with each other…and by that I mean we reguarlly met up for pints and stayed up till 5am getting drunk. This energy kept us linked throughout the two weeks and alongside others, we asked how can we keep this idea of an “us” to last longer than these two weeks. We all went home. We cried, we danced and we sent each other selfies of ourselves in the stuffy air of our home cities. It didn’t feel like a loss though, it didn’t feel like the beggining of somehting either. We just moved our mode of communication to a different space. Today, after spending the night covered in the sweat of a plane,train and coach ride back to Manchester, Zoe found and shared a video in our little group. It was a Blitz Theatre Group show. The seeds that Prodomos had planted are growing roots. Zoe spotted a stem, I can’t wait to see what blooms. Over the next few weeks I can’t wait to see what the other summer campers spot and offer to each other.
thank you Prodomos and Zoe
This won’t be the only Nowy Summer Camp etude as I’ve met a group of some amazing artists who I want to share their work. I can’t wait to introduce you to them.
I just wanted to share this fundraiser for brilliant human Griffyn Gilligan and if you have a spare quid or 2 or 10 or 100 then please consider donating.
That’s all from me this week. Will be back to posting on Monday from next week.
Take care
Josh xx