Bitef

Uostalom, avi impulsi nìsu nìkada doprinelì da se iznade pravi put, a ja sve do danas naginjem Artaudovim shvatanjima i svestan sam da se pozorište mora korìstiti kao sredstvo za ìskorenjivanje korupcìje u društvu. Übeden sam, da bi jedno krajnje stilizovano, ali ne i dekadentno pozorište mogio da postoji, medutim, mada ću se i dalje zalagati za njegovo ostvarenje, ne bih mogao da navedem mnogo primera, koji bi njegovo postojanje opravdavali. Nedavno sam naišao na neka goruéa, socijalno opravdana i realistilki uobličena pitanja te sam, i pored svega relenog, došao a ìskusenje da ih razradim; a onda sam se zadubio u traganje za njihovim novim obli cima i tehničkim rešenjima. Rada sam se povezao sa Traverse Theatre u Edinburgu, sredìnom i krajem śezdesetih godina, bio sam zaokupíjen svakodnevnim pozorišnim poslovima. Zatekao sam tamo veliki brój pisaca, i to prvenstveno mladih. Borbeni poklič onog doba (a i sadašnjeg) bio je: nadite mlade pisce, prikazujte nove komade. Odazvavši se tom pokliču, uveo sam dela C. P. Taylora, Jacka Richardsona, Julesa Feiffera, Joe Ortona ltd., dok je moj ćasopis u to doba bio u stalnom usponu, posto je zadatak pozorišta bio da sluzi mladim piscima, da ih pronalazi, da realizuje njihove potencijalne mogućnosti i time obogaćuje internacìonalnì repertoar. Medutim, ni kada sam režirao neke komade, kao sto su Loot, ili jednoiinke Saula Bellowa The Bellow Plays, ili The Tiger i The Typists od Murray Schisgala, ja nisam imao utisak da će se pomoću tih kornada pozorište izvući iz ćorsokaka jer, jedino što je vredelo da se acini, bilo je da se stvori kolektivni instrument grupa koja bi o st v ar ila nova vrstu umetničkog obrasca; bio bi to, naime, »komad«, koga će stvoriti sama grupa u saradnjì sa režiserom, bez ikakve veze sa pìsanim delom. U cilju formìranja takvog instrumenta, saradivao sam sa Peterom Brookom u stvaranju Royal Shakespeare Experimental Group, a docnije i u osnivanju the Open Space Theatre Company u Londona , U Londona naših dana, smotta se za neku vrstu otpadnistva, ako se misti da spas britanskog pozorišta ne treba da zavisì od pìsanog komada, ili da pojava novih pisaca neée niukoliko ìzmenìti osnovnu pozorišnu dìlemu, koja se sastojì u estetskoj zastarelostì. AU stvarna jeres bila je u tome što ja nisam mogao da se povučem. Imajući u vidu da su moje aktivnosti režisera i kritičara, bile tokom života tesno povezane, nastojao sam da se te dve funkcije razdvoje, bolje rečeno da se izoluje ona drugostepena funkcija, što mi je dugo vremena stvaralo duboko osećanje krìvice. Moram da dodam, da na to osećanje krìvice nije uticalo sto sam osećao jedno, a trudio se da postignem nešto sasvìm drugo ; kao što rekoh, verujem da postoji opravdana srdonost izmedu ovili dveju funkcija. Poznato mi je, da kod svakog kritićara postoji, u većem Hi manjem stepenu, slilno osećanje krìvice i da je on pot puno svestan, da zdrava kritìka zavisì od umetnićke vrednostì glumca. Ne, prava krivìcu snosi, po mom mišljenju, kritičar čija je ličnost takoreći neprkosnovena, čiji je glavni zadatak da održi standardni nivo svoje veštine, suprotno onom koji ponekad zablista snagom svog intelekta. Sve mi to liči na profesìonalnog futbalera koji, da bi dokazao svoje viśestrake sposobnosti, pokušava da igra golf. Sto ne znali da je on sarnim tim postao igrać golfa. Postoje kritiari koji su to postali iz nuzde, Hi iz nekih slićnih razloga, ali postoje i oni drugi iz übedenja i po intuiciji. U pogledu raznovrnih tema dramske kritike,

niti sam voljan, nifi se osećam pozvan da se njome bavim. Charles Marowitz Iz knjige: »Ispovesti patvorenog kritiiara«

Marowìtz

Charles Marowitz, Artistic Director of The Open Space, is a New Yorker who has been involved with experiment in London since 1958 when he started In-Stage, the oldest fringe-theatre in the city. With In-Stage, he discovered a host of new writers including Murray Schisgal and Paul Ableman. Later, as co-director of the London-Traverse at the Cochrane Theatre he directed Saul Bellows’ The Bellows Plays and Joe Orton’s Loot, both of which subsequently transfereed to the West End. He co-directed the RSC s Theatre of Cruelty Season with Peter Brook which included Genet s The Screens and the Marat,Sade. His first production at The Open Space was John Herbert’s Fortune and Mens Eyes which transferred to the Comedy Theatre after a fifteen-week run on Tottenham Court Road. At the Open Space, he has introduced the work of Rosalyn Drexler, Terence McNally, John Guare and other off-Broadway American writers His collage-productions of Hamlet and Macbeth have toured the Continent and been televised here and abroad; Hamlet is in Penguin paperback and Macbeth has been published by Calder and Boyars. Thelma Holt

Thelma Holt, co-director of The Open Space began her career as an actress and has since successfully combined acting and management. Born in Lancashire, she was educated at St. Anne's School and then attended RADA. She has appeared in the West End in plays such as Private Life of Helen Eighty in the Shade and the William Saroyan Double-Bill, Across the Board and Over Tomorrow and in several films including The Prince and the Showgirl. She has been equally active on television in several Plays of the Week, Harpers West. One and Z-Cars. She appeared in the first Marowitz production of Hamlet at the Berlin Festival of 1965 and won great acclaim for her Lady Macbeth in the recent collage-version of Macbeth which toured Italy before its run at The open Space. She has taught acting-workshop in London and New York

and is responsible for the administration of The Open Space Theatre Club and cinema.

Open space

The Open Space Theatre was founded in June 1968 by its joint directors Thelma Holt and ‘ Charles Marowitz. Its object then, as now, was twofold: firstly, to create an outlet for the best ' new writing from England and America and, secondly, to provide a home-base for a permanent experimental company. In the first two years of its existence, it introduced the work of over thirty new playwrights, represented Great Britain in International Festival in Italy, Germany and France, organised tours to Scotland, the Continent and America, and established a solid reputation for first-class professional work as London s leading fringe-theatre. All of this has been achieved in the face of constant constant financial hardship. Last year the Arts Council s grant to the Open Space was £ 1500. It spends over £2500 for each production and requires a minimum subsidy of £54,000 per annum. It has survived by entering into commercial Basons with West End managements ; by obtaining donations and gifts and by receiving unflinching support from its membership which is now over 5,000. It is a theatre which can only function with subsidy which is not subsidized either by local councils or the Arts Council. People ask, how do you manage to survive? It is a question we constantly ask ourselves. One answer, perhaps is that it is a people s theatre; that is, although official bodies do not support it, an audience devoted to adventurous and off-beat theatrical fare insists that it stays alive. So long as that public exists and we serve its needs, we assume we will be, no matter how impecuniously, in business. Because the Open Space believes the arts can no longer be compartmentalized and that a new, vital audience exists for both plays and films, the theatre established a film adjunct in 1969. Our first film was Norman Mailers BEYOND THE LAW. This was followed by the controversial screening of Andy Warhol s FLESH . . which produced the first police-raid on a West End cinema in the history of London entertainment. After seizing the film on a warrant under the Obscene Publications Act of 1959, the Director of Public Prosecutions decided no charges would be brought, this was after the raid had made front-page headlines all over the world, had been debated in both Houses of Parlament and criticized by every leading newspaper in the country. FLESH was eventually returned to The Open Space and played to capacity houses for eight weeks. It was discontinued at the height of its commercial success to make way for our next regularly-scheduled playproductionj Since then, we hare played Conrad Rooksfilm CHAPPAQUA and Valentino's THE EAGLE. Future showings will include new films by Roger

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