Saturday, November 14, 2009
When Artists Ripped Holes in the Iron Curtain
NYTimes.com: "IN 1985 a dissident troupe of Polish actors called Theater of the Eighth Day defied the ruling Communist Party and its censors by creating a play about the bleakness of daily life under martial law, imposed from 1981 to 1983. With ragged costumes and only a few props — most notably a sailboat that symbolized the dream of escape — the actors prepared to mount “Wormwood,” an unusually blunt and unvarnished work of protest theater."
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3 comments:
I wish I could visit New York for this festival to see WORMWOOD. The description makes the piece sound very much like CMU's PIGPEN troupe in terms of the style and creation (a group created by actors and uses symbolic props). The very core of theatre is perfectly tuned to spread ideas and examine society. So much attention recently however, has been devoted to shows like SPIDERMAN THE MUSICAL, rather than any real ground breaking piece of theatre. WORMWOOD however was a piece that had a clear purpose and a group that was dedicated to using the stage as a tool of communication. It is difficult to imagine such works being produced now as we do not live under such a strict set of laws. There are however lots of issues in today's society that would translate beautifully onto stage. Perhaps if more of this happens the true power of theatre will be realized in America.
There has been a recent resurgence of artists reviving and creating pieces dealing with the fall of totalitarian governments. While this may seem quite obvious with the recent change in presidency sparking renewed interest in politically charged theatre, I think it is especially important to look at pieces like Wormwood that aren't just reflecting on times past, but actually were produced in and for the time.
I wish more pieces of theatre like "Wormwood" were created and performed on Broadway and the larger theatre stages in our country, and around the world. A play like "Wormwood" has so much more historical significance than many other productions on Broadway today. I think it's fascinating that it is being performed by some of the original actors who traveled from town to town, trying to keep their art alive, trying to speak out against communism. That's theatre worth seeing and creating.
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