Grotowski Year 2009. A programme of events.

I've just received from Alejandra Nettel, a Mexican actress linked to Grotowki Institute, the programme of The Grotowski Year 2009:

Dear All I warmly invite you to the Inauguration of the Grotowski Year 2009. The programme of the Inauguration includes among others the opening of the exhibition Dust. ‘Apocalypsis cum Figuris’ in the photographs of Maurizio Buscarino, international conference Grotowski: what was, what is. And what is to be done, the concert by Bauls from West Bengal (India) and the meeting with Peter Brook devoted to his book With Grotowski. Theatre is Just a Form, led by Professor Georges Banu. Bellow and in the attachment you can find the complete programme. More information about the programme of the Grotowski Year 2009 you can find on the website www.grotowskiyear.pl. Best regards, Izabela Mlynarz Wrocław, 12th–15th January 2009 INAUGURATION OF THE GROTOWSKI YEAR 2009 Co-hosts: Ludwik Flaszen, Rena Mirecka, Zygmunt Molik PROGRAMME OF THE INAUGURATION 12th January (Monday) 4 pm The Great Hall of the Wroclaw Town Hall, Old Market Square • Words of welcome by Jaroslaw Fret, Director of the Grotowski Institute • Speech by Bogdan Zdrojewski, Minister of Culture and National Heritage and presentation of the medals Order of Merit and Culture Gloria Artis (the Gold Order for Ludwik Flaszen, the Silver Orders for Rena Mirecka and Zygmunt Molik) • Speech by Rafal Dutkiewicz, President of Wroclaw • Speech by Kazimierz Grotowski 6:30 pm The Apocalypsis Space of the Grotowski Institute, Rynek–Ratusz 27 Opening of the exhibition Dust. ‘Apocalypsis cum Figuris’ in the photographs of Maurizio Buscarino, organised by the Grotowski Institute in collaboration with the Lower Silesian Photography Centre “Domek Romanski” – Gallery of the Centre for Culture and Art in Wroclaw; spatial arrangement Stanislaw Lose, curator Grzegorz Ziolkowski 13th–15th January (Tuesday–Thursday), 10 am – 7 pm International conference Grotowski: what was, what is. And what is to be done The Assembly Hall of the Ossoliński National Institute, Szewska St. 37 Speeches by: Paul Allain, Georges Banu, Mario Biagini, Abani Biswas, Tinkori Chakraborty, Janusz Degler, Marco De Marinis, Ludwik Flaszen, Marc Fumaroli, Leszek Kolankiewicz, Dariusz Kosinski, Jenna Kumiega, Jack Lang, Else Marie Laukvik, Ferruccio Marotti, Zbigniew Osinski, Carla Pollastrelli, Richard Schechner, Luisa Tinti Guest: Jana Pilátová 13th January (Tuesday), 9 pm Film presentation ‘Sacrilegious Rite, Abounding in Sorcery’. On Jerzy Grotowski’s Laboratory Theatre, directed by Krzysztof Domagalik, produced by Polish Television, Warsaw 1980; meeting with the director The Conference Hall of the Ossolinski National Institute, Szewska St. 37 14th January (Wednesday), 9 pm, T Songs for Grot. Concert by Bauls from West Bengal (India) on the 10th anniversary of Jerzy Grotowski’s death Museum of Architecture, Bernardynska St. 5 15th January (Thursday), 7 pm Meeting with Peter Brook devoted to his book With Grotowski. Theatre is Just a Form, edited by Paul Allain, Georges Banu and Grzegorz Ziółkowski (Wrocław: Grotowski Institute, 2009; in collaboration with the British Grotowski Project); led by Georges Banu The Assembly Hall of the Ossolinski National Institute, Szewska St. 37 12th–31st January 2009 The Old Market Square in Wroclaw Exhibition 50 Years of the Laboratory Theatre, created by Barbara Kaczmarek (graphic design), Duncan Jamieson (revision of the English text), Toyotaka Ota (montage of the video presentation) and Grzegorz Ziolkowski (concept and text) 12th January (Monday), 6:30 pm The Apocalypsis Space of the Grotowski Institute, Rynek Ratusz 27 Opening of the exhibition Dust. ‘Apocalypsis cum Figuris’ in the photographs of Maurizio Buscarino, organised by the Grotowski Institute in collaboration with the Lower Silesian Photography Centre “Domek Romanski" – Gallery of the Centre for Culture and Art in Wroclaw; spatial arrangement Stanislaw Lose, curator Grzegorz Ziolkowski Admission free In 1979 in Milan Maurizio Buscarino, a remarkable Italian artist, photographed the rehearsals and performance of Apocalypsis cum Figuris by the Laboratory Theatre, as well as recordings of the film documenting this performance. Until now only some of his pictures were published. After years – at the Grotowski Institute’s request – the author edited the rest of the photographs and chose some of them especially for the exhibition in the historical space of the Laboratory Theatre where Apocalypsis was created in 1968. This selection, which includes forty seven pictures, makes the time travel possible. Thanks to it we have a possibility to encounter the historical work of Jerzy Grotowski and his group in unique way. The exhibition will be open until 31st January 2009 at the Grotowski Institute and after that it will be transferred to the Lower Silesian Photography Centre – “Domek Romanski”, Gallery of the Centre for Culture and Art in Wroclaw (pl. bpa Nankiera 8, Wroclaw). Opening of an exhibition in “Domek Romanski” is planned for the end of March 2009. We wish to thank Roberta Secchi for her invaluable help. Maurizio Buscarino Grotowski in black and white A journey into Grotowski’s ‘aura’ through the lens of the great theatre photographer, Maurizio Buscarino, who recently recovered from his archives shots of the last performances of Apocalypsis cum figuris as well as other photos. This is for the current exhibition arranged in Wrocław for the tenth anniversary of Grotowski’s death. Buscarino has photographed the theatre and theatres, theatre in prison, puppet theatre, theatre pilgrimages, performances by theatre groups and Kantor’s creations. For more than thirty years he has been the eye and the memory of the new theatre. His photographs are not just documentary evidence: they narrate, evoke, suggest, and interpret. Amongst other things, he also took photographs of Grotowski, especially his Apocalypsis cum figuris in 1979, at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, shortly before the announcement of the Teatr Laboratorium’s dissolution. (The fragment of the interview by Massimo Marino, published in Hystrio, a quarterly magazine on the theatre and performance, Year XXII, no. 1, Milan 2009. Translated by Roberta Secchi with Paul Allain. The whole interview is available on the website www.grotowskiyear.pl) 13th–15th January International conference Grotowski: what was, what is. And what is to be done The Assembly Hall of the Ossolinski National Institute, Szewska St. 37 Admission free 13th January (Tuesday) Chair: Ludwik Flaszen 10–11:15 am speech by Jack Lang 11:15 am –12:15 pm Georges Banu Stanislavski/Meyerhold et Brook/Grotowski: le sens de ces amitiés dans le XX-ème siècle 12:30–1:30 pm Else Marie Laukvik ‘Shining up the Grotowski Room’. Memories of an Actress Chair: Leszek Kolankiewicz 4–5 pm Ferruccio Marotti ‘The Constant Prince’ – a reconstruction, a strange adventure 5:30–7:30 pm Zbigniew Osinski and Richard Schechner In a Dialogue about Grotowski 14th January (Wednesday) Chair: Zbigniew Osinski 10–11:15 am Jenna Kumiega Reflections 11:15 am – 12:15 pm Leszek Kolankiewicz Druga ojczyzna Grotowskiego: Haiti (Grotowski’s second homeland: Haiti) 12:30–1:30 pm Marco De Marinis La ricerca sul rituale nel lavoro di Grotowski Chair: Georges Banu 4–5:30 pm Abani Biswas and baul Tin Kori Chakraborty The Inner Man 6–7:30 pm Ludwik Flaszen Grotowski i jego cień (Grotowski and his shadow) 15th January (Thurday) Chair: Marco De Marinis 11–12 am Marc Fumaroli Grotowski ou le passeur de frontières 12–1 pm Meeting with Mario Biagini 3–5 pm Panel discussion Grotowski – and what is to be done: 10 years later With: Paul Allain, Dariusz Kosiński, Carla Pollastrelli and Luisy Tinti, led by: Janusz Degler Guest: Jana Pilátová Partner: Narodowe Centrum Kultury Languages: English, French, Italian, and Polish The conference was programmed by Grzegorz Ziolkowski Collaboration: Magdalena Madra We asked Ludwik Flaszen’s advice 13th January (Tuesday), 9 pm Film presentation ‘Sacrilegious Rite, Abounding in Sorcery’. On Jerzy Grotowski’s Laboratory Theatre, directed by Krzysztof Domagalik, produced by Polish Television, Warsaw 1980; meeting with the director The Conference Hall of the Ossoliński National Institute, Szewska St. 37 Admission free Krzysztof Domagalik’s film, consulted by Zbigniew Osinski, is one of the most important documentaries devoted to the work of the Laboratory Theatre. It presents the history of the company since the beginning of the group existence until 1980 through the commentary, illustrations such as photographs and fragments of other films, but above all through the speeches of the creators: Jerzy Grotowski, Ludwik Flaszen, Ryszard Cieslak, Zbigniew Cynkutis, Rena Mirecka, and Zygmunt Molik. Until now this film was barely known beyond Poland. However, in 2009 it will be released in DVD format with English subtitles by Polskie Wydawnictwo Audiowizualne in collaboration with the Grotowski Institute. It will be presented with English subtitles on 13th January 2009 in the Ossolineum as well. 14th January (Wednesday), 9 pm, T Songs for Grot. Concert by Bauls from West Bengal (India) on the 10th anniversary of Jerzy Grotowski’s death Museum of Architecture, Bernardynska St. 5 Tickets – Tomasz Jurek: bilety@grotowski-institute.art.pl Bauls from Bengal Bauls originate from a community of wandering mystical singers that goes back to the Middle Ages. Even if they are Hindus, they do not recognize caste divisions, they profess equality of faiths and religions and retain that Divinity has its place in the Heart of every Man. Bauls were re-discovered by Rabindranath Tagore, a renowned Indian poet. Tagore regarded Bauls’ poems as masterpieces of Indian literature. Performing arts and creative techniques have become for Bauls a way of living that was originally combined with the search for inner knowledge. Nowadays it is the artistic aspect that prevails, to the detriment of personal search. Bauls make their own characteristic musical instruments and are true masters of improvisation. They live through their music. The joy of being alive and present that comes from, it is what makes them become true Bauls, i.e. “God’s fools”. MONER MANUSH / THE MAN OF THE HEART Translation from Bengali by Eleonora Caturegli Biswas That is why, brother, I have become a crazy Baul. I do not obey any master or order. Man-made distinctions don’t affect me. I dwell in the joy of love that springs forth from my being. Love knows no separation, but only the meeting of hearts forever. And so I am joyful, I am singing and dancing with one and all. That is why, brother, I have become a crazy Bail. Ki bole Manush more – Who says man dies? Who says man dies? I cannot understand this After his death by whom will be the man judged? The five essences of the matter are present in the human body, We can easily understand it From one soul, two others are born. The universal spirit is immortal The universal spirit lives in the mortal beings We call it, the cycle of life and death Who is the operator of this system? He has no images, He is invisible, No one is able to describe him He is playing his game silently The soul of all living beings lives in the Universal soul, By whom is fulfilled the source of the pure Force? Our precious body will be destroyed The water of the ocean is formed from the waters of all the flowing rivers Which again go back to their source The ocean never dries The high and low tides go away and again come back In this way the man is leaving and returning Monshur* says, “The soul of human beings comes back again and again, Endlessly”. * Monshur Fakir a known Muslim master of the last century. More songs of the Bauls on the website www.grotowskiyear.pl 15th January (Thursday), 7 pm Meeting with Peter Brook devoted to his book With Grotowski. Theatre is Just a Form, edited by Paul Allain, Georges Banu and Grzegorz Ziolkowski (Wroclaw: Grotowski Institute, 2009; in collaboration with the British Grotowski Project); led by Georges Banu The Assembly Hall of the Ossolinski National Institute, Szewska St. 37 Admission free “From early on, Grotowski recognized the double nature of forms. They conceal, but they also protect the life that is within. For this reason, he set up his own barriers, so as to conceal and protect the work he was doing with his dedicated companions in their well-guarded private space. When he eliminated spectators from his theatre, and when he refused to allow writers to describe and evaluate his explorations, this was to prevent mere descriptions from replacing the vivid life of actions. And yet Grotowski, a great reader, an encyclopedic man of learning, knew well how essential in human life it is for understanding to be passed on, for there to be a chain of transmission. His quest was not only in a personal need to force the crust of the earth to open so as to reveal the blazing core hidden in its depths. It was also, in his own chosen field of theatre, to guide others, to help them discover in exact, detailed and repeatable ways what laws, what practices make this deep inner penetration possible. In this way, he could develop a craft that could be transmitted directly, from person to person, a craft that examined the relationship between impulse and action, and made their coming together possible. He carefully separated himself from his explorations, so that they could continue one day without him”. (an extract from the book) Peter Brook was born in London in 1925. He directed his first play there in 1942 and then went on to direct over eighty productions in London, Paris and New York. His work with the Royal Shakespeare Company includes Love’s Labour’s Lost, Measure for Measure, Titus Andronicus, King Lear, Marat/Sade, US, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Antony and Cleopatra. In 1971, he founded the International Centre for Theatre Research in Paris and in 1974, opened its permanent base in the Bouffes du Nord Theatre. There, he directed Timon of Athens, The Ik, Ubu aux Bouffes, Conference of the Birds, L’Os, The Cherry Orchard, The Mahabharata, Woza Albert!, The Tempest, The Man Who, Qui est là?, O! les Beaux Jours, Je suis un Phénomène, Le Costume, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Far Away, La Mort de Krishna, Ta Main dans la Mienne, Le Grand Inquisiteur, Tierno Bokar, and Sizwe Banzi is dead – many of these performed both in French and English. In opera, he directed La Bohème, Boris Godounov, The Olympians, Salomé and Le Nozze de Figaro at Covent Garden; Faust and Eugene Onegin at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, La Tragédie de Carmen and Impressions of Pelleas, at the Bouffes du Nord, Paris and Don Giovanni for the Aix en Provence Festival. Peter Brook’s autobiography, Threads of Time, was published in 1998 and joins other titles including The Empty Space (1968) – translated into over 15 languages, The Shifting Point (1987), There are No Secrets (1993), Evoking (and Forgetting) Shakespeare (2002). His films include Lord of the Flies, Marat/Sade, King Lear, Moderato Cantabile, The Mahabharata and Meetings with Remarkable Men. In December 2007, upon the initiative of Georges Banu and Grzegorz Ziolkowski, Peter Brook’s book about Jerzy Grotowski Teatr jest tylko formą was published in Polish by the Grotowski Institute. For the inauguration of the Grotowski Year 2009 the author prepared the English edition of this book, which is published by the Grotowski Institute. At the same time, Actes Sud publishes the French version – Avec Grotowski. Le théâtre n’est qu’une forme – with Georges Banu’s introduction. The author, the editors and the publisher would like to thank Nina Soufy for her invaluable help. Contact regarding any publishing matters: Monika Blige: monika@grotowski-institute.art.pl Information In January the book in Polish Grotowski powtorzony (Grotowski Repeated), edited by Stanisław Rosiek (Gdansk: słowo/obraz terytoria, 2008, in collaboration with the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw) will be available. See: www.terytoria.com.pl The special issue of the journal Performance Research entitled On Performatics – edited by Richard Gough and Grzegorz Ziolkowski (vol. 13, nr 2, June 2008), which is the response to the conference Performance Studies and Beyond, organised at the Grotowski Centre in December 2006 – is also coming out in January 2009. Patronage: Media partners: T – tickets Reservation and ticket sale for the Baul concert – Tomasz Jurek: bilety@grotowski-institute.art.pl www.grotowskiyear.pl The Grotowski Year 2009 Office: office@grotowski-institute.art.pl Producing Director of the Grotowski Year 2009 Joanna Klass jklass@grotowski-institute.art.pl Producer of the International Theatre Festival The World as a Place of Truth Anna Lewanowicz anna@grotowski-institute.art.pl Assistant Coordinators Karolina Bykowska, Rachel Jendrzejewski, Marie Magneron office@grotowski-institute.art.pl Press Contacts Tatiana Drzycimska, Anna Pupin media@grotowski-institute.art.pl The Grotowski Institute Rynek-Ratusz 27, 50–101 Wroclaw, Poland tel. + 48 71 3445320, tel./fax + 48 71 3434267 www.grotowski-institute.art.pl Contact • Archive – Adela Karsznia: adela@grotowski-institute.art.pl • Administration – Magdalena Madra: magda@grotowski-institute.art.pl • Programme section – Izabela Mlynarz: iza@grotowski-institute.art.pl • Publishing section – Monika Blige: monika@grotowski-institute.art.pl Director: Jaroslaw Fret /Programme Director: Grzegorz Ziolkowski