International Theatre Festival Retroperspektywy 2022
THE BEGINNING OF A NEW WORLD
19-28.08.2022
CHOREA Theatre / Art Factory in Lodz
Threats to our planet and human kind are becoming increasingly present in public awareness. It has been particularly proven by the analyses conducted by the biggest research centres all over the world. Literature, visual arts and performative arts also discuss the forthcoming spectre of global disaster. Within the zone of both scientific research and artistic achievements, the balance between hope for rescue and lack of hope seems to be highly disturbed in favour of the second one. New technologies, developing rapidly, allow accumulation of the whole human knowledge, immediate flow and processing of information as well as prediction of the approaching disasters with high accuracy. Progressively, we begin to use renewable sources of energy and electricity as the main fuel that does not destroy the environment. Medical advances aim at elimination of all human diseases and at prolongation of physical as well as biological human existence. The first time in history it is science, not religion, promising mankind IMMORTALITY!
On the other hand, we may simply miss the chance. Climate changes may cause hunger, uncontrolled human migrations as well as wars over water and food. Exploitation of the planet’s resources and epidemic of new diseases will restrain or stop the economy in many regions of the world. Artificial intelligence, equipped with its own, independent decision-making, can implement its own plan, unknown to us.
Yet it may occur that after 2020, pandemic, destructive in its every aspect, and strong conflicts of values, people want something completely different. Maybe the old world, with its categories and values, will leave irretrievably. Maybe theatre, in the forthcoming years, has got the task not to look back, with nostalgy or curse, but open the window to the bright new world, the beginning of a new great century. What if the story about one’s dreams is the only hope for rebirth? Once more, theatre has got a chance not only to ask the most important questions but it should commit itself to search for answers in order to retain a true relationship with the viewer.
We would like to address these questions to the authors invited to the 2022 Retrospektywy Festival, for whom both the past, which formed us through generations, and the future, which we will be forced to rediscover and redefine in the second half of the 21st century, are important. How do they perceive THE BEGINNING OF A NEW WORLD?
The International Theatre Festival Retroperspektywy (RPS) is held cyclically since 2010 in Fabryka Sztuki at 3 Tymienieckiego Street in Lodz. Having the form of a festival, it offers the most attractive theatre and dance proposals from Poland and other parts of the world. The event can be charaterized by high professionalism of performers, uniqueness and coherence of the programme, availability to a wide and diversified audience, rich offer of workshops and meetings with eminent authors of theatre arts.
During last 12 years (throughout 8 editions of the Retroperspektywy Festival and 2 editions of the Perspektywy Festival) more then 120 performances and concerts as well as 44 workshops took place. 400 invited guests from more than 15 countries (including USA, India, Sweden, Great Britain, Norway, Portugal, Belarus) showed up at our venue along with 30.500 spectators and participants. We want to consistently continue with our development, which has been occurring for a couple of years now, and organize yet another edition of the international festival to invite outstanding artists with their theatre, dance and music performances. We will make it possible for the audience to take part in the World of Theatre whose main aim is a discourse on contemporary reality as well as a search for original means of artistic expression. Long-time consistency of getting through to various social groups (intellectuals, people from underserved communities, elderlies, students, youth, families with children) and building festival audience development contributed to the event being popular and widely recognized on the cultural map of Lodz. Festival goes beyond regular undertakings of CHOREA Theatre and it allows to put on performances by Polish and international artists who deal with the art of theatre and dance. It is an excuse and an extraordinary chance for performances that CHOREA Theatre co-creates with international theatres and artists. An important idea, that promotes the festival from the very beginning, is creating a bridge between searching novices and stage masters, between tradition and avant-garde.
