Complicite, theatre and aesthetics : from scraps of leather / Tomasz Wiśniewski

""In this book Tomasz Wiśniewski explores the roots, techniques, methodologies and influences of Complicite's performances without attempting to codify either its international spirit or the plurality of its styles. Granted unprecedented access to the Complicite archives, Dr. Wiśniewski has crafted a sensitive, deeply penetrating, yet accessible analysis of one of the most dynamic, intelligent, and regenerative theatre companies of our time. I would certainly recommend it to theatre historians and practitioners as at least one model of how theatre remains a vital force in 21st century culture."--S.E. Gontarski, Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English, Florida State University, USA "Wisniewski presents us with a careful and comprehensive discussion of one of the most innovative theater companies working anywhere in the world today. His is a landmark study that is both assertive and accessible. Like Complicite itself, he helps us recognize and celebrate nothing less than the endless potential of the theatrical imagination itself." - Enoch Brater, Kenneth T. Rowe Collegiate Professor of Dramatic Literature, University of Michigan, USA "Through a combination of impeccable theatre research and perceptive critical analysis, this book opens a window onto one of Britain's most consistently creative theatre companies." - Kenneth Pickering, Honorary Professor of Drama, University of Kent, UK This book presents a pioneering critical study of Complicite's work throughout the years. Drawing on an extensive overview of the available research material - including interviews, manuscripts and the company's own archive - the book is framed within a clearly defined research perspective and explores the singularity of theatre communication. The book results from an encounter between the London-based - but cosmopolitan in scope - company, and a fresh application of the form-oriented scholarship of Eastern Europe, Yuri Lotman's semiosphere in particular. Focused on the aesthetics of Complicite, this study achieves a critical distance and undertakes multidimensional scrutiny of the available research material. By identifying the principles of Complicite's aesthetics, the book attempts to grasp the company's artistic paradigm. It focuses on ways of creating, preserving, and decoding meanings, rather than on the nuances of performance or contextual issues." -- Font no determinada Dedication 5 Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 Chapter 1: Introduction 10 The Name of the Company 11 Artistic Masters 16 Jacques Lecoq 16 John Berger 18 Questioning Logo-Centrism 19 The Mind and the Body 22 Other Influences 23 The Communal and the Personal 25 The Sense of Unknowing 26 Singularity of Theatre Communication 27 Scraps of Leather, or the Research Material 30 The Tools 31 Notes 32 Chapter 2: The Artistic Signature of Simon McBurney 35 Individual Signature and Archetypal Generalisation 35 Autobiography as Communicated Self-Identification 36 A Cosmopolitan Nomad 38 The Concept of a ‘Home’ in Essays 41 The Concept of a ‘Home’ in Plays 45 Intimacy of Death 49 Family Bonds 51 Personal Relations 54 A Model of Communication 55 Creative Artist 57 Artistic Signature 63 Notes 66 Chapter 3: The Logic of the Plot in Théâtre de Complicité 67 Semiotic Infiltration 67 Evolution of (Theatre de) Complicite 69 Fluidity of Structures 70 Put It On Your Head 71 A Minute Too Late 73 The Creative Process 74 The Mechanism of Interference 76 The Construction 78 Internal Features of the Prologue 79 The Carnival and the Lyrical 80 The Mimetic and the Counterfactual 82 Autonomy of Compositional Units 83 Mise en abyme and Framing 86 Segmentation 89 Composition and Construction 90 The Logic of the Plot 91 Further Implications 92 Notes 94 Chapter 4: The World of the Stage 99 From the Stage Language of Théâtre de Complicité to the Aesthetics of Complicite 99 The Fluctuations Within the ‘Open Work’ 100 Pet Shop Boys Meet Eisenstein 104 The Noise of Time 104 Frames Within the Construction 107 Endgame 107 The Elephant Vanishes 108 The Magic Flute 108 Spatio-Temporal Imagery and Communication 110 Measure for Measure 111 The Master and Margarita 112 The Onstage World and the Fictional World 114 Shun-kin 114 Foe 117 Conclusions 120 Notes 123 Chapter 5: The Textual Tissue of Theatre de Complicite 127 Cultural Memory 127 Onstage Reading 130 Mise-en-page 131 The Comparative Spirit 133 Plays by Theatre de Complicite 135 Publication Details 136 Artistic Autonomy of Plays 140 Communication in The Street of Crocodiles 141 The Onstage Action 143 Functions of Letters 144 Duality Within the Internal Perspective 145 Confrontations 151 The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol: The Composition 152 The Framework and the Narrative Situation 154 Lucie as an Outsider 155 The Addressee 157 Light: The Composition 159 Liveness and Conventionality 162 Model of Composition 163 Notes 164 Chapter 6: The Aesthetics of Complicite 167 Yuri Lotman’s Semiosphere 167 The Delimitation of Communicative Space 168 Four Levels of Theatre Communication 169 The Multiplication of Variants 172 The Centre and the Peripheries 173 The Question of the Natural Language 174 Structuring the Composition 176 The Motif of a Chair 176 The Mass of Chairs 178 The Personification of a Chair in Mnemonic 181 The Process of Communication 183 The Prominence of the Boundary 184 The Visual Tissue 185 The Sonic Tissue 187 Intrusions: Some Conclusions 188 Notes 189 Chapter 7: Kaleidoscopic Fragmentariness 191 Dispersed Meanings 191 Numeric Sequences 192 Internal Integrity 195 Artistic Means of Patterning 196 Equivalence and Isomorphism 199 Mnemonic 200 Textual Variants 201 Visual Composition 202 Sonic and Visual Types of Segmentation 204 Levels of Narration 206 Simon McBurney’s Body 208 A Dead Body 210 Archaeology 211 Notes 212 Chapter 8: The Ongoing Narrative 214 The Experience of Otherness 214 The Question of Originality 215 The Encounter, or Complicite in September 2015 216 McBurney’s Artistic Signature 218 Outsider 219 Family Bonds 220 Theatre-maker 220 The Nomad Life 221 Confrontations 222 The Multiplication of Variants 223 The Aesthetics of Complicite 227 Notes 228 Bibliography 229 Primary Sources 229 Uncollected Essays and Notes by Simon McBurney (Selected) 230 Notes and Essays by Other Company Associates (Selected) 230 Interviews, Speeches and Public Events (Selected) 231 Audiovisual Recordings (Selected) 233 Programmes, Notes and Posters (Selected) 233 Reviews and Articles Other Sources 234 Other Sources 237 Index 242 ""In this book Tomasz Wiśniewski explores the roots, techniques, methodologies and influences of Complicite's performances without attempting to codify either its international spirit or the plurality of its styles. Granted unprecedented access to the Complicite archives, Dr. Wiśniewski has crafted a sensitive, deeply penetrating, yet accessible analysis of one of the most dynamic, intelligent, and regenerative theatre companies of our time. I would certainly recommend it to theatre historians and practitioners as at least one model of how theatre remains a vital force in 21st century culture."--S.E. Gontarski, Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English, Florida State University, USA "Wisniewski presents us with a careful and comprehensive discussion of one of the most innovative theater companies working anywhere in the world today. His is a landmark study that is both assertive and accessible. Like Complicite itself, he helps us recognize and celebrate nothing less than the endless potential of the theatrical imagination itself." - Enoch Brater, Kenneth T. Rowe Collegiate Professor of Dramatic Literature, University of Michigan, USA "Through a combination of impeccable theatre research and perceptive critical analysis, this book opens a window onto one of Britain's most consistently creative theatre companies." - Kenneth Pickering, Honorary Professor of Drama, University of Kent, UK This book presents a pioneering critical study of Complicite's work throughout the years. Drawing on an extensive overview of the available research material - including interviews, manuscripts and the company's own archive - the book is framed within a clearly defined research perspective and explores the singularity of theatre communication. The book results from an encounter between the London-based - but cosmopolitan in scope - company, and a fresh application of the form-oriented scholarship of Eastern Europe, Yuri Lotman's semiosphere in particular. Focused on the aesthetics of Complicite, this study achieves a critical distance and undertakes multidimensional scrutiny of the available research material. By identifying the principles of Complicite's aesthetics, the book attempts to grasp the company's artistic paradigm. It focuses on ways of creating, preserving, and decoding meanings, rather than on the nuances of performance or contextual issues." -- Font no determinada Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-25 The Artistic Signature of Simon McBurney....Pages 27-58 The Logic of the Plot in Théâtre de Complicité....Pages 59-90 The World of the Stage....Pages 91-118 The Textual Tissue of Theatre de Complicite....Pages 119-158 The Aesthetics of Complicite....Pages 159-182 Kaleidoscopic Fragmentariness....Pages 183-205 The Ongoing Narrative....Pages 207-221 Back Matter....Pages 223-246