International Festival of Contemporary Theatre
Performances
Marking the 10th anniversary of Homo Novus, we have gathered 11 Latvian artists from various genres for a production of new small scale performances, installations or actions. These works will be based in the British theatre scholar Alan Read’s theory of “theatre as the last human venue” and structured as an event, unified in time and space.
In his book ‘Theatre, Intimacy and Engagement’, Alan Read writes: “The last human venue marks the location and moment of human beings’ awareness of their own eventual extinction. Performance, on the contrary, explores ways in which performance operates as an exciter of sentience, kick-starting our sense of being alive, acting as a pleasurable lengthening of device to extend our inevitable faith. Humans in this venue distinguish themselves from other animals through their experiencing of an extended childhood, in their ability to sustain a controlled, unbroken outward breath and by their unique capacity to aesthetically disappoint.”
‘The Last Human Venue’ programme includes performances by theatre directors Pēteris Krilovs, Vladislavs Nastavševs and Valters Sīlis, and the exhibition by directors Andrejs Jarovojs, Viesturs Meikšāns, set designers Monika Pormale, Izoldes Cēsniece, Reinis Suhanovs, fashion designers MAREUNROL’S and artistic collectives Nomadi and umka.lv.
The Curators Piece
3 September 21:00 | Ģertrūdes ielas teātris | 7 and 5* Ls
Curators of different international theatre festivals have been invited to take part in this performance. They are the people with a rare, yet a very interesting profession – they travel, see many different performances and, eventually, decide on the artists and shows they want to offer to their audiences. The directors of the play, Tea Tupajić and Petra Zanki present ‘The Curators’ Piece’ as a “trial” against art and its protagonists, challenging the utopian ideal of the responsibility of art to a wider society. Charges are raised against all participants: the artists who create a piece, the curators responsible for presenting the work, and the audience.
In the Riga performance we will see on stage the artistic leader of Tallin’s independent stage – Kanuti Gildi Saal and the curator of the Baltoscandal festival – Priit Raud, artistic directors of two Norwegian contemporary theatre centres – Per Ananiassen from ‘Avantgarden’ in Trondheim and Sven Birkeland from ‘BIT Teatergarasjen’ in Bergen, the director of ‘Performance Space 122’ Vallejo Gantner from New York, German dramaturg and artistic director of Impulse Theater Biennale – Florian Malzacher, as well as the director of ‘Homo Novus’ – Gundega Laiviņa.
About artist
Tea Tupajic (born in Sarajevo, 1984) studied in Zagreb to be a theatre director. She is an independent artist, currently working both as a director and a performer. She worked in the Tanzquartier residency in the Vienna Museum quarter in 2009 and is currently collaborating with the performance artist Petra Zanki and the director Jan Ritsema.
Petra Zanki is a Croatian choreographer and dancer born in Split. After graduation at the University of Arts and Philosophy in Zagreb, she continued her studies at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. As performer and author she has previously worked with such Balkan artists as Oliver Frljić, Shadow Casters, Via Negativa.
Credits
Authors and directors: Tea Tupajic and Petra Zanki.
Cast: Priit Raud, Per Ananiassen, Sven Birkeland, Vallejo Gantner, Florian Malzacher, Gundega Laiviņa.
Co-producers: BIT Teatergarasjen, Teaterhuset Avantgarden, Kunstcentrum BUDA, steirischer herbst, ON THE BOARDS, PACT Zollverein, Performance space 122, MDT, o espaço do tempo
3
September
21:00
7 and 5*
Lats
Language
English
Duration
1 h
Address
Website
Supported by
* Ticket price for pupils, students, seniors
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