Bitef

sastoji se u eliminisanju barijera, a ne u nagomilavanju tehnike.

1971

Le Théâtre de l'Homme osnovan je septembra 1971. Posle četvoromesečnog napornog rada glumcl su bili podeljeni u grupe. Jedna od njih je prikazala tri jednočinke od Samuela Becketta, dok je druga sekcija u januam 1972, izvela sugestivno delo Johna Syngea »Riders to the Sea«. Evo jedne kritike ove predstave: »komad je imao uspeha, jer Je Mr. Nieoczym dokazao da se sustina teksta može iskazati rečima koje torn delu nisu bila namenjena ...« U maju 1972. pozorište je dobilo stipendiju OFY-a i spojilo se sa scenama: Children’s Theatre I Workshops. Po prijemu petorice novih članova, ovaj ansambal je u avgustu iste godine, posle šestomesečnih priprema, prikazao delo pod nazivom »Odyssey: Saviours of God«. Sadržaj se zasnivao na bibliji, starim egipatskim tekstovima i delima Nikosa Kazantzakisa. Tokom sezone 1972—1973 ova ce se predstava davati u svim vecim gradovima Kanade. Trupa je sada angažovana na pripremi delà T. S. Eliota »Murder in the Cathedral« čija se premijera očekuje u nastupajućoj sezoni

saviours of god

Te Théâtre de l'Homme is a small company of six actors from Hamilton, Ontario, who came together during the winter of 1971—72 to produce several plays in the Hamilton area. For the summer of 1972 they were awarded an Opportunities for Youth grant, and thus, under the directorship of Richard Nieoczym, were able to continue intensive training in experimental theatre techniques

and to create an original production entitled Odyssey; The Saviours of God, in addition to two children's plays. During that time the company was based in Robinson Memorial Theatre of McMaster University. In spite of the expiry of their grant, the troupe decided to stay together In the fall, and were subsequently invited to give a series of performances of Odyssey at Bathurst United Church (currently a centre for the production of experimental theatre pieces) in Toronto. The audience was not allowed to enter the church hall until precisely nine o'clock, when the performance was to begin. By that time only seven or eight people had gathered. Finally we were admitted into the high-ceilIng, shadowy church hall and chose seats anywhere along the walls. The silence and the dark, empty space of the room gave it the atmosphere of a temple. After a minute or two the actors three men and one woman quietly entered from behind a curtain, carrying lit candles. These were set down in position on the floor, and the performance began with a breath-taking, primitive dance to the accompaniment ot drums. The performance lasted approximately one hour. The dancing and physical vigour of the cast was beyond doubt the most impressive aspect of the production. The choreography in itself, however, tended to become repetitive and unimaginative after a time. This seemed to be the result of the company's attempt to get back to “pure" primitive dance: the full force of the foot coming down into contact with the earth; feverish, trance-inspiring spins; the leap into the air defying gravity. The movements of the women seemed to be based mainly on frenzied pelvic gyrations, which, although often marvellous and effective, also tended to become simply boring after a time. Mr. Nieoczym and his company would probably do well to studdy the dances on various African tribal groups, which have great sophistication and stylization in addition to the quality of ritualistic celebration. When certain actors were required to drop out of the action for a period of time, they usually laid down or sat on the outer edges of the performing area. What was remarkable about these periods of dislnvolvement was the actors’ ability to totally disappear from the awareness of the spectators. One was startled to suddenly find them capable of movement again. This ability to achieve total self-effacement while sitting within four or five feet of a member of the audience is In itself a notable Indication of the discipline and egoless concentration which brought to their performance. However, the production had one serious and major fault which completely jeopardized, all its accomplishments. This concerns the use of words. The actors knew their lines perfectly, but blurted them out in a loud, emotionless, breathless monologue which was often totally incomprehensible. In some instances the effect was fascinatingly like the Tower of Babel, or a ham radio operator picking up a static-ridden conversation from Okinawa on his short-wave set. But for a performance described by the programme

notes as “a call to Celebration... the joyous affirmation of man’s tragic vision ... a radical re-interpretation of the Christ-Dionysus Myth ..one wonders if the performers ever really took the time to examine the function of human speech in relation to their play. The texts chosen were full of religious meaning and inspirational beauty: Schiller's Ode to Joy; The Lord is my Shepherd; the book of Esther: writings from the cultural apexes of human civilization. There was a bad feeling that the sacred poetry and meaning of great language was being bludgeoned to death in this so-called “celebration”. One also wonders about the inclusion of snatches from American folk ballads. Again, what purpose did this serve In relation to the rest of the performance? Althought the words were actually intelligible, it also seemed to be rather kitsch and unnecessary. Certainly it is the use of language which is the primary reason why many members of the audience tend to feel that Odyssey is a waste of their time and money. This Is a problem which the company would do well to contemplate In earnest. They should make a tape recording of a complete performance and listen to it some quiet evening. Though we do not expect them to articulate like RADA graduates that indeed would be antithetical to the type of theatre they are thying to create considerable training in the use of the voice and In breath control is obviously this company’s top priority at this moment. If they do maintain that this is an unimportant aspect of their theatrical attempt, then the Théâtre de l’Homme will have to reconcile itself to being nothing more than coterie theatre, only capable of reaching and Interesting the select few. For, though they are young, dynamic and dedicated, they have to learn to offter the theatre-goer an experience both comprehensible and Inspiring for the two are, in effect, inseparable.

totalni čin

Richard Nieoczym je student eksperimentalnog pozorišta. Roden je 26. novembra 1946. u Nemačkoj, školovao se u Kanadi. Svoje bogato iskustvo stekao je radom na Mc Master University, gde je bio podpredsednik dramske sekcije. U toku 1970. proveo je tri meseca na univerzitetu u Aix-en-Province u Francuskoj proučavajući pozorišnu umet-

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