Toshiko Okada's "The Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise" comes to the stage in Kraków this month, performed by the Chelfitsch ensemble from Japan, followed by Mapa Teatro and Hebben Am Ufer's "Holy Innocents Day" in June
The Kraków-based Divine Comedy International Theatre Festival has changed its formula, presenting international productions monthly (for the summer holidays) and culminating with a competition in December. The first performance to be presented as a part of the series is The Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise by the Japanese Chelfitsch ensemble, followed by the June performances of Holy Innocents Day, a co-production of Bogota's Mapa Teatro and Hebben Am Ufer from Berlin.
The Chelfitsch ensemble was founded in 1997 by Toshiko Okada, the author and director of all the ensembles performances. The name "chelfitsch" is inspired by a child-like mispronunciation of the English word "selfish", which is the way Okada sees the state of spirit of Japanese society under thirty. One of the reasons for this, according to him, is the quiet conflict of the generations; the elders are overly concentrated on their traditional sense of identity through nationality, while the younger generation pursues a more individualistic definition.
We do not practice any special training or use any m e t h o d of practice, Okada told Gazeta Wyborcza critic Joanna Derkaczew. He added, I just ask the actors not to disturb the audience while the spectators are looking for the images and scenarios of their own, for a performance of their own. One has got to leave the audience alone.
The Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise presents a Japanese couple living a life that is seemingly close to perfection. And yet they aren't happy and they try to figure out why. Intelligent and amusing, the performance depicts some of the most important problems of contemporary societies.
The group received international recognition following their appearance with the performance of Five Days in March at the 2007 Kunsten Festival des Arts in Brussels. Further successes at the Austrian Wiener Festwochen and the French Festival d'Automne based in Paris followed. Their performances, characterised by the combination of everyday gestures with unique choreography and unusual visual effects, tell the stories about life of the present day Japanese people both in the local and universal contexts. Production partner for The Sonice Life of a Giant Tortoise: Manggha Centre of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków.
In June, the international co-production from the Bogota-based Mapa Teatro and Berlin-based Hebben Am Ufer, brings Carnival festivities back to life. The play is based on the tradition of the annual street festival celebrated in late December in the coastal town of Guapí. The Day of the Holy Innocents is meant to serve as a reminder of the Biblical Massacre of the Innocents, but over the years it has transformed into a grotesque carnival event themed "No Fiesta without a Fiend". In a nation of tropical jungles, guerilla warfare and brutal drug trafficking, it is a commentary on both political activism and aesthetic practice. Local marimba music, video and an oral history intermingle with the sordid confessions of ruthless paramilitaries.
The play is written and directed by Heidi Abderhalden and Rolf Abderhalden- Cortés. Rolf Abderhalden- Cortés Swiss-Colombian transdisciplinary artist who lives and works between Bogota and Paris. He trained at the International School of Theatre of Jacques Lecoq in Paris with a specialization in Scenography and Installation in the Laboratoire d'Etudes du Mouvement LEM and at the National School of Fine Arts of Paris and received his MA in Fine and Visual Arts at the National University of Colombia. He is a member of the Académie Expérimentale des Théâtres (Paris 1990-2002). He founded the Mapo Teatro- Laboratorio de Artistas with Heidi Abderhalden in Bogota and currently serves as its co-director together with Heidi Abderhalden.
Performances at the Divine Comedy Festival:
The Sonice Life of a Giant Tortoise: May 17 - 18, 2011.
Holy Innocents Day: June 3 - 4, 2011. The production will then travel on to the Wiener Festival in Vienna - programme dates: June 8 - 11, 2011.
The Kraków Festival Bureau is one of leading Polish institutions responsible for the organisation of some of the most significant cultural events. It hosts several prestigious festivals in the historic city, such as Misteria Paschalia and Sacrum Profanum. It promotes other influential cultural projects, such as The Film Music Festival, Off Camera International Independent Cinema Festival, Divine Comedy International Theatre Festival, Joseph Conrad International Literary Festival, Selector Festival as well as open-air events.
For more information, see: www.biurofestiwalowe.pl and
www.boskakomedia.plŁaźnia Nowa Theatre
os. Szkolne 25, 31-977 Kraków
Artistic and general director: Bartosz Szydłowski
Vice director: Jarosław Tochowicz
tel. (+48 12) 680 64 03, 680 64 04
link*www.laznianowa.pl*http://www.laznianowa.pl****Source: www.boskakomedia.pl, www.biurofestiwalowe.pl, www.chelfitsch.net, www.wyborcza.pl.