Myth and Theatre Festival
Finally, two months before the Festival opening, two themes clearly took over: DEATH and ANARCHY.
DEATH is linked to the 50th anniversary of Roy Hart's sudden violent death on May 18, 1975. “The most powerful, tragic and disturbing MAGICAL event I have ever experienced in my life.” EP
ANARCHY is a late-comer, though always in the background, with no claim to mythological limelight - indeed, is it a myth? A book brought it to the fore: Au voleur! Anarchisme et philosophie (translated as Stop Thief!) - by Catherine Malabou, translation 2023. A first-class ethical reflection on why Anarchy is rarely credited for some of the best thinking in the last, say, 100 years. Political, in Malabou’s case. In ours: critical. Artists are thieves and Anarchy a favorite resort: Picasso, Artaud, Castellucci, so many others.
The Festival
The Festival(link is external) is a thirteen-days residential of performance practice(link is external) and theory, directed by Enrique Pardo(link is external) with Linda Wise(link is external), invited artists and lecturers. It was founded in 1986 under the presidency of the late James Hillman, thinker-psychologist of the imagination and mythology - hence Myth and Theatre.
Since 2015 the Festival has been exploring a cycle on MAGIC : The broadest and richest horizon of human agency and thought.
This summer’s festival calls on Italian painter Caravaggio(link is external) (1571 - 1610), and his Chiaroscuro lighting esthetics and ethics. Our task: to see through and spotlight MAGIC in performance - in the manner of Caravaggio.
The Festival will also address two critical events:
- the tragic death of Roy Hart, Dorothy Hart and Vivienne Young in a car crash in 1975 : “The most powerful MAGICAL event in my life; tragic and tormenting”. EP
- Donald Trump’s use of MAGA (Make America Great Again), a trickster's use of Persian (Iranian!) maga, and the origins of Magic.
First conclusion: Magic cannot be restricted to optimistic illusions - it can just as easily turn the tables with terrible backlashes.
Hence, a festive Festival, as is due, in a gorgeous pastoral setting, but also perfectly serious: “Un golpe de ataud en tierra es algo perfectamente serio” (The sound of a coffin hitting the earth is something perfectly serious), José Lezama Lima (gratus Rafael Lopez-Pedraza.)
FESTIVAL WEBPAGE AND REGISTRATION LINK(link is external)
