Notes by the Director Romeo Castellucci
On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God explores the notion of Jesus as icon. The action takes place in front of a giant Renaissance image of Christ. Castellucci uses his signature theatrical language to question mystical and theological manifestations, in this powerful and unsettling piece. Romeo Castellucci returns to Trafo with a haunting new creation. As an uncompromising theatre maker, he creates work that is at once beautiful, powerful and at times unsettling to watch.
A mysterious, obsessive, enigmatic piece created by one of the greatest contemporary
artists, On the Concept of the Face, regarding the Son of God asks in devastating fashion the question of the meaning of life by summoning the phantom of faith. An ode to compassion, a meditation on the sacred power of art and an examination of suffering and dignity, this very moving play enjoins the spectator to rethink the great passions and fevers of the human condition.
« Le metteur en scène italien livre un spectacle beau et cru, sous le regard mystérieux du fils de Dieu. »
Fabienne Darge, Le Monde, 23 juillet 2011
« Un acte bouleversant d'amour et d'humanité. (…) Comme un miroir obscur, le spectacle renvoie chacun à la conscience de ses limites, de sa fragilité, de son infinie finitude. À ses peurs et ses expériences les plus intimes, ses croyances, sa foi en l’homme. En Dieu.»
Didier Méreuze, La Croix, 22 juillet 2011
« On y retrouve à la fois le thème du rapport entre un père et son fils, et une atmosphère ultraréaliste, pas si fréquente dans l’univers de Castellucci, où onirisme et images baroques occupent une large place. »
René Solis, Libération, 22 juillet 2011
« C'est une œuvre puissante, complexe, profondément dérangeante… (…) On éprouve. On est éprouvé. On est mis à l’épreuve. Comme toujours avec Castellucci. »
Amélie Héliot, Le Figaro, 21 juillet 2011
"Gianni Piazzi as the sobbing, guiltily ashamed father and Sergio Scarlatella as the lovingly attentive son perform their roles with a devotion beyond the call of duty."
Michael Billington, The Guardian
Conceiving and staging: Romeo CASTELLUCCI
Music: Scott Gibbons
With: Gianni Plazzi + Sergio Scarlatella és/and Dario Boldrini + Vito Matera +
Silvano Voltolina
Collaboration to the staging: Giacomo STRADA
Object’s realisation: István ZIMMERMANN, Giovanna AMOROSO
Sound technician: Matteo BRAGLIA, Marco CANALI
Light technician: Fabio BERSELLI, Luciano TREBBI
Props: Vito MATERA
Management: Gilda BIASINI, Benedetta BRIGLIA, Cosetta NICOLINI, Valentina
BERTOLINO
Coproduction: Theater der Welt 2010 + deSingel international arts campus
(Antwerp) + Théâtre National de Bretagne (Rennes) + The National Theatre (Oslo) + Barbican
London and SPILL Festival of Performance + Chekhov International Theatre Festival (Moscow)
+ Holland Festival (Amsterdam) + Athens Festival + GREC 2011 Festival de Barcelona +
Festival d’Avignon + International Theatre Festival DIALOG Wroclav / Poland + Belgrade
International Theatre Festival + Foreign Affairs I Berliner Festspiele 2011+ Théâtre de la Ville
(Paris) + Romaeuropa Festival + Theatre festival SPIELART München (Spielmotor München
e.V.)+ Le-Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg / Scène Européenne + TAP Théâtre Auditorium de
Poitiers - Scène Nationale + Peak Performances @ Montclair State - USA
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH Place des Arts
In collaboration with Centrale Fies/Dro
http://www.raffaellosanzio.org/
The performance is the first station of Trafó’s Focal Point Theatrical Series. The contemporary theater and theater-building has a complex nature: it establishes a direct connection between the players and the audience and instead of the conventional, one-sided approach of reception, it tries establishing a conversational relationship which mediates and exhibits. It's built on the thinking, active participation and sometimes even the resistance of the audience. The companies introduced in the series include some which rely on a strong visual presence, some which emphasize interaction and audience participation, and others which choose a traditional method of presenting a story, yet all of which stress the importance of (motion) pictures. This provides us with five models which present current themes in an artistically relevant way in 2012.
On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God explores the notion of Jesus as icon. The action takes place in front of a giant Renaissance image of Christ. Castellucci uses his signature theatrical language to question mystical and theological manifestations, in this powerful and unsettling piece. Romeo Castellucci returns to Trafo with a haunting new creation. As an uncompromising theatre maker, he creates work that is at once beautiful, powerful and at times unsettling to watch.
A mysterious, obsessive, enigmatic piece created by one of the greatest contemporary
artists, On the Concept of the Face, regarding the Son of God asks in devastating fashion the question of the meaning of life by summoning the phantom of faith. An ode to compassion, a meditation on the sacred power of art and an examination of suffering and dignity, this very moving play enjoins the spectator to rethink the great passions and fevers of the human condition.
« Le metteur en scène italien livre un spectacle beau et cru, sous le regard mystérieux du fils de Dieu. »
Fabienne Darge, Le Monde, 23 juillet 2011
« Un acte bouleversant d'amour et d'humanité. (…) Comme un miroir obscur, le spectacle renvoie chacun à la conscience de ses limites, de sa fragilité, de son infinie finitude. À ses peurs et ses expériences les plus intimes, ses croyances, sa foi en l’homme. En Dieu.»
Didier Méreuze, La Croix, 22 juillet 2011
« On y retrouve à la fois le thème du rapport entre un père et son fils, et une atmosphère ultraréaliste, pas si fréquente dans l’univers de Castellucci, où onirisme et images baroques occupent une large place. »
René Solis, Libération, 22 juillet 2011
« C'est une œuvre puissante, complexe, profondément dérangeante… (…) On éprouve. On est éprouvé. On est mis à l’épreuve. Comme toujours avec Castellucci. »
Amélie Héliot, Le Figaro, 21 juillet 2011
"Gianni Piazzi as the sobbing, guiltily ashamed father and Sergio Scarlatella as the lovingly attentive son perform their roles with a devotion beyond the call of duty."
Michael Billington, The Guardian
Conceiving and staging: Romeo CASTELLUCCI
Music: Scott Gibbons
With: Gianni Plazzi + Sergio Scarlatella és/and Dario Boldrini + Vito Matera +
Silvano Voltolina
Collaboration to the staging: Giacomo STRADA
Object’s realisation: István ZIMMERMANN, Giovanna AMOROSO
Sound technician: Matteo BRAGLIA, Marco CANALI
Light technician: Fabio BERSELLI, Luciano TREBBI
Props: Vito MATERA
Management: Gilda BIASINI, Benedetta BRIGLIA, Cosetta NICOLINI, Valentina
BERTOLINO
Coproduction: Theater der Welt 2010 + deSingel international arts campus
(Antwerp) + Théâtre National de Bretagne (Rennes) + The National Theatre (Oslo) + Barbican
London and SPILL Festival of Performance + Chekhov International Theatre Festival (Moscow)
+ Holland Festival (Amsterdam) + Athens Festival + GREC 2011 Festival de Barcelona +
Festival d’Avignon + International Theatre Festival DIALOG Wroclav / Poland + Belgrade
International Theatre Festival + Foreign Affairs I Berliner Festspiele 2011+ Théâtre de la Ville
(Paris) + Romaeuropa Festival + Theatre festival SPIELART München (Spielmotor München
e.V.)+ Le-Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg / Scène Européenne + TAP Théâtre Auditorium de
Poitiers - Scène Nationale + Peak Performances @ Montclair State - USA
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH Place des Arts
In collaboration with Centrale Fies/Dro
http://www.raffaellosanzio.org/
The performance is the first station of Trafó’s Focal Point Theatrical Series. The contemporary theater and theater-building has a complex nature: it establishes a direct connection between the players and the audience and instead of the conventional, one-sided approach of reception, it tries establishing a conversational relationship which mediates and exhibits. It's built on the thinking, active participation and sometimes even the resistance of the audience. The companies introduced in the series include some which rely on a strong visual presence, some which emphasize interaction and audience participation, and others which choose a traditional method of presenting a story, yet all of which stress the importance of (motion) pictures. This provides us with five models which present current themes in an artistically relevant way in 2012.
