At the doors of Europe
A Magic Net Production by Teatro Guirigai (Spain), Teatro O Band (Portugal) and Tiyatro Oyunevi (Turkey)
“At the doors of Europe” is neither to be looked upon as a spectacle nor a presentation,
but a heterodox experience, a subject of heresy. do not be mistaken, theatre makes use of appearances; we adopt productive experiences…
“At the doors of Europe” is a biochemical action of a social exchange programme by Adonais, an imaginary foundation created by the European union.
The experiment intends to show the impermissible conduct of the dynamic systems of history. Adonais has been established to implement experiences of social and historical interchange and to penetrate the European identity. This imaginary foundation makes visible the contrast of the cultural markets of two different worlds: xVi and xxi century.
Adonais reproduces genetically three symbolic characters of the xVi century Ottoman and Luso-spanish Empire. Three characters are especially selected due to their capacity to survive and to reproduce heresies in their natural environments called “zoco”, a symbolic space of exchange. Here Adonais stimulates the characters psychologically while applying the chaos theory to induce chaotic behavior. The experiments are coordinated by the blue Angel, an ambiguous and attractive executive.
The stage design is inspired by a commercial shopping mall. The ”three doors of Europe” symbolize the three doors of memory, merging mysterious signs and objects of use. A representative of the imaginary Adonais foundation explains to the public the advantages of knowledge which can be adapted as a power strategy – searching for knowing who we are, who our ancestors were and what they did.
The three characters come from the past, but they are presently alive, even though they were our European ancestors. beware that they are characters who are contaminated and can contaminate. they have religious prejudices, antiquated ideas, and are from another epoch. The financial market, the society of today, is another question. The European union with its sponsors, the stock market winners, the multinationals, the bureaucratic apparatus, the
mass media, the syndicates and citizens have all created another world.
Artistic Approach
Three writers from each company are involved in creating the three protagonists who are voyagers from different Mediterranean European cultures, travelling around the xVi century continent. These characters are representatives of bygone European cultures. The popular and lived cultures represented are long forgotten, only remembered in folkloric archives, literary congresses and by some specialized university teachers.
Yavuz Pekman/Turkey has created Torlak, a female shaman, a practitioner concerned
with communicating with the spirit world. She is a pilgrim traveler moved by amorous desires to a janissary, an infantry soldier from the Ottoman sultan‘s household troops and bodyguard. Torlak comes from Anatolia and travels along the Greek coast to the city of Thessalonica. She also brings with her the vision of a travelling dervish, known for their extreme poverty and austerity.
Armando Nascimento/Portugal created Florido, a desperate character, whose innermost soul has suffered great pain because of the death of his son and wife, through humiliation, imprisonment and torture. He travels around northern Europe in an illusionary journey to the underworld of the dead. He searches for his wife Lismena like Dante for Beatriz and Orpheus for Eurydice.
Agustín Iglesias/Spain adapted a well-known Spanish character, Pedro de Urdemalas. He is an archetypal picaresque character (Spanish: „picaresca“=“rascal“). He is the son of Jewish converts, fugitive from Turkey and a man without religious faith. After being enslaved in the Mediterranean, he travels through Tunisia and Algeria before reaching Istanbul.
The text is structured in three parts: 1) Transit: An initiation journey to the underworld guided and controlled by the blue Angel, an afterlife vision. 2) Hell: A voyage around historic Europe and inside the characters. 3) Paradise: 21st century satire: hypermodern, hyper consumerist, hyper informed and hypermarket times. Who might Florido and Urdemalas be in our times? How might Torlak assimilate to the contemporary system?
National opening night: June 29, 2007 at classic drama Festival of Cáceres, Extremadura/Spain.
but a heterodox experience, a subject of heresy. do not be mistaken, theatre makes use of appearances; we adopt productive experiences…
“At the doors of Europe” is a biochemical action of a social exchange programme by Adonais, an imaginary foundation created by the European union.
The experiment intends to show the impermissible conduct of the dynamic systems of history. Adonais has been established to implement experiences of social and historical interchange and to penetrate the European identity. This imaginary foundation makes visible the contrast of the cultural markets of two different worlds: xVi and xxi century.
Adonais reproduces genetically three symbolic characters of the xVi century Ottoman and Luso-spanish Empire. Three characters are especially selected due to their capacity to survive and to reproduce heresies in their natural environments called “zoco”, a symbolic space of exchange. Here Adonais stimulates the characters psychologically while applying the chaos theory to induce chaotic behavior. The experiments are coordinated by the blue Angel, an ambiguous and attractive executive.
The stage design is inspired by a commercial shopping mall. The ”three doors of Europe” symbolize the three doors of memory, merging mysterious signs and objects of use. A representative of the imaginary Adonais foundation explains to the public the advantages of knowledge which can be adapted as a power strategy – searching for knowing who we are, who our ancestors were and what they did.
The three characters come from the past, but they are presently alive, even though they were our European ancestors. beware that they are characters who are contaminated and can contaminate. they have religious prejudices, antiquated ideas, and are from another epoch. The financial market, the society of today, is another question. The European union with its sponsors, the stock market winners, the multinationals, the bureaucratic apparatus, the
mass media, the syndicates and citizens have all created another world.
Artistic Approach
Three writers from each company are involved in creating the three protagonists who are voyagers from different Mediterranean European cultures, travelling around the xVi century continent. These characters are representatives of bygone European cultures. The popular and lived cultures represented are long forgotten, only remembered in folkloric archives, literary congresses and by some specialized university teachers.
Yavuz Pekman/Turkey has created Torlak, a female shaman, a practitioner concerned
with communicating with the spirit world. She is a pilgrim traveler moved by amorous desires to a janissary, an infantry soldier from the Ottoman sultan‘s household troops and bodyguard. Torlak comes from Anatolia and travels along the Greek coast to the city of Thessalonica. She also brings with her the vision of a travelling dervish, known for their extreme poverty and austerity.
Armando Nascimento/Portugal created Florido, a desperate character, whose innermost soul has suffered great pain because of the death of his son and wife, through humiliation, imprisonment and torture. He travels around northern Europe in an illusionary journey to the underworld of the dead. He searches for his wife Lismena like Dante for Beatriz and Orpheus for Eurydice.
Agustín Iglesias/Spain adapted a well-known Spanish character, Pedro de Urdemalas. He is an archetypal picaresque character (Spanish: „picaresca“=“rascal“). He is the son of Jewish converts, fugitive from Turkey and a man without religious faith. After being enslaved in the Mediterranean, he travels through Tunisia and Algeria before reaching Istanbul.
The text is structured in three parts: 1) Transit: An initiation journey to the underworld guided and controlled by the blue Angel, an afterlife vision. 2) Hell: A voyage around historic Europe and inside the characters. 3) Paradise: 21st century satire: hypermodern, hyper consumerist, hyper informed and hypermarket times. Who might Florido and Urdemalas be in our times? How might Torlak assimilate to the contemporary system?
National opening night: June 29, 2007 at classic drama Festival of Cáceres, Extremadura/Spain.
Magic-Net is supported by the European Commission under the programme Culture 2000
design & programming ARTEMiSiUM GmbH & Co. KG | © 2008 MAGIC NET