Theatre
This is entirely the intentinn nt the shnw's talented ynutig Slnyakian direetnr Viliam l)nenlnmansky. Aged nnly 30. he has already been garlanded with awards. and althnugh he apnlngises. prepnsternusly. ahnut the quality nl his Iinglish Iwhieh is superb). he speaks .ilwnut his wnrk with an intensity and intelligeuee whieh mirrnrs the wnrk he puts ntI stage.
Speaking tn me alter the pei'lnrmanee. l)nenlnmansky. whn trained as a pianist. tells me that he ennsiders musieality In he 'Ihe hasie quality nl theatre‘. '|~.\er_\thing alwnut the Inpie nl migratinn is lieynnd wnrds‘. he enutinues. ‘sn I'm using musiealily In e\press the inner essenee til the human being ll\ mg Hi this slllltllinll.‘
l'itIl' IlIL' Ilil't'elnt'. IllL‘ L'\\L'IIL'L' til. .31 l/..\l'/ ls Illk‘ e\pressinu nl snmething tmiyersal Ilunugh his enmpany ‘s relatinn In a wry speeitie eireumstauee. l’arm in the ('aye I\\lII)sL' name enmes lrnm the title nl the lamin larm nl their inspiratinn. the great Andalusian playwright and pnel l‘edet‘ien (iareia l.nt‘eat always rnnt their wnrk m researeh. In the past they haye \isited Andalusia itsell' tn gain e\perienee tn create a shnw. \Vith .\‘('I..II'/. memhers nl~ the ensemble suggested a trip In the \ illages nl the l’resny reginn in nnrtlreastern Slnyakia.
‘Iiyen as we .set nlII tn gn tn Slnyakia. we were nnl clear that the shnw slinttld lie alinul emigratinnf says l)nenlnmansky. "\Ve appeared there. in the Villages. and we met the penple. 'l‘lIL‘I'C. in Illnse Villages. \VL‘ lIL‘itl'tl these stings whieh emigrants had ereated during their stay in the United States. Argentina nr ('anada. That is very itnpnrtant lnr Its; we ean‘l lllsl dn snme kind nl. aesthetie [wrl'nrmanee. we need In he persnnally inynlyed.’
The Villages whieh the enmpany \ isited were l.enikn villages. The l.emkn penple. like anany (Eypsies. haye a lnng and trnuliled histnry in eastern and eentral liurnpe. Stateless. hut with strnng eultural traditinns.
their stnry is filled with the anguish nl'
migratinn. 'l'nday. mnst I.emkn_s liye in Ukraine and Slnyakia. Many in the si/eahle pnpulatinn in l’nlaud (mnre than l4().()()() penple) were l'nreihly depnrted hy the Stalinist authnrities in Warsaw during ‘()peratinu Wisla‘ in 1047.
Dnenlnmansky l'nuud snmething deeply inspiring in the musie til the l.emkn penple. ‘Beeause they dnn‘t haye their nwn natinn state. they keep their identity in their snngs and in nther manilestatinns nl. their eulture.‘
There is. in this enmment. a depth nl‘
understanding ahnut eultural pnlities whieh euts against the eynteism nl‘ an inereasingly lininngenenus glnhal eulture. I‘arm in the (axe elearly think very deeply ahnut their reasnns t'nr engaging in artistie e\pressinn.
‘()ur enmpany is interested In dn researeh intn minnrity eultures'. explains the direetnr. ‘(ilnlialisatinn will sweep plaees like this (the Lenikn Villages nl l’resny) till the l‘aee til the Iiarth. 'l'hrnugh minnrity eultures we are trying tn get elnser tn nur aneestnrs. .-\|l nl‘ us whn are living in IlIL‘ pnliIiL‘ul .spaee L‘l'L‘iIIL‘Ll l‘y glnhalisatinn and the e\pansinn til the Iiurnpean I‘ninn are lnsing the ennneetinns with nur aneestnrs.‘
This is a .snhering thnught. hut nne whieh is expressed in the enntext nl' a theatre prnduetinn wliieh nyerlilnws with Vitality and the nptimism inherent In any artist whn helieyes in the resilienee nl the human spirit. S('I--I\'l. like sn many til the works whieh hay e been presented at Aurnra .\'n\'a in the past. is tnueh mnre than mere theatrieal entertainment.
Aurora Nova, St Stephen’s, 558 3853, 4-28 Aug, (not 8, 15, 22), 210-5112. Previews 4 8- 5 Aug, £7.50.
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THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 55