Complicite, Theatre and Aesthetics: From Scraps of Leather

251 Pages·2016·3.14 MB·English

by  Tomasz Wiśniewski (auth.)

Complicite, Theatre and Aesthetics
From Scraps of Leather
Tomasz Wiśniewski
Complicite, Theatre and Aesthetics
Tomasz   Wiśniewski
Complicite, Theatre
and Aesthetics
From Scraps of Leather
Tomasz   Wiśniewski
University of Gdańsk , Poland
ISBN 978-3-319-33442-4 ISBN 978-3-319-33443-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33443-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016955057
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2 016
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
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for Magda
‘And from all of this chaos, we pull out the bits of information that suit
us and weave them into a story that we think makes sense.’ (T he
Encounter) 1
1 As spoken at The Encounter, Edinburgh International Festival, 10 August 2015.
Quotations from Complicite with the permission of the Company.
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to emphasise that the book presents my own assessments and
does not necessarily express the views of Complicite. The thesis proposed
represents my response to the work of the Company and any shortcom-
ings in the study are solely my responsibility.
I also wish to acknowledge the generous support I have received from
members of the Company during the writing of the book. Not only have
they patiently supported this research, providing indispensable archival
resources, but they have also accommodated my visits to their Kentish
Town offi ce even at the most hectic of times. I owe particular gratitude
to Judith Dimant for her guidance and the trust she has placed in my
research. I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable help of Poppy
Keeling, Claire Gilbert and other members of the offi ce team. The book
would not have been possible without consultations with long-time asso-
ciates of the Company, including its co-founder Marcello Magni, as well
as Clive Mendus, Jos Houben, Eric Mallett and Douglas Rintoul. I thank
them all for the time they have generously given in talking with me.
***
On the academic plane, I would like to express my gratitude to Professor
Andrzej Zgorzelski for the years of his scholarly guidance, for long hours
of inspiring discussions, and for his critical and penetrating response to
my ideas. Earlier versions of the manuscript have been read by, and dis-
cussed with, Professor Jerzy Limon, Professor Artur Blaim and Professor
S.E. Gontarski: their remarks directed the argument into regions I could
not initially have foreseen. I am profoundly indebted to Professor Kenneth
ix
x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Pickering for his continuous advice concerning the writing process, and
his extensive linguistic expertise in the fi nal stages of writing the book.
For consultations on various aspects of this book, I owe my gratitude to
Professor Derek Attridge, Professor Enoch Brater, Professor Paul Allain,
Professor H. Porter Abbott, Professor Bogusław Żyłko, Professor Olga
Kubińska, Professor Jean Ward, Dr Stanisław Modrzewski, Jon McKenna,
John Calder, David Gothard and Krzysztof Miklaszewski.
I would like to thank Professor David Malcolm, Dr Monika Szuba and
the team for developing the Between.Pomiędzy Festival, which since its
founding has included seminars on Complicite as well as workshops by
Marcello Magni and Douglas Rintoul, and so many other inspiring events.
I am immensely grateful to Professor Andrzej Ceynowa, the Dean of
the Faculty of Languages at the University of Gdańsk, who has placed
great trust in my scholarship and provided generous institutional and
fi nancial support for my work. Izabela Żochowska, Hanna Niżnik and Dr
Katarzyna Świerk have provided indispensable administrative support at
the University of Gdańsk as did Jenny McCall, Paula Kennedy, April James
and others at Palgrave Macmillan.
On a more practical plane my thanks go to Jon McKenna, Debby
Mulholland, Rob Newman and Krzysztof Łoś for offering accommoda-
tion during my numerous visits to London and Amsterdam. It is impos-
sible to enumerate all those whose professional assistance has made my
research effective at institutions such as the National Theatre Archive,
the V&A Theatre and Performance Archive, the British Library and the
University of Gdańsk Library. Their help cannot be overestimated.
On a more personal note, this book would not have come into being
without the overall help of Joanna Wiśniewska-Pickering and Simon
Pickering. I would like to thank Aśka and Gavin for introducing me to the
work of Complicite.
Finally, I owe so much to Magdalena Urban-Wiśniewska for her infi nite
patience and continuous support, and for showing me what really matters
in life. Each word in this book is dedicated to her.
C
ONTENTS
1 Introduction 1
2 The Artistic Signature of Simon McBurney 2 7
3 The Logic of the Plot in Théâtre de Complicité 5 9
4 The World of the Stage 9 1
5 The Textual Tissue of Theatre de Complicite 119
6 The Aesthetics of Complicite 1 59
7 Kaleidoscopic Fragmentariness 1 83
8 The Ongoing Narrative 2 07
Bibliography 223
Index 237
xi
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
This book is about a London-based company founded in 1983 as Théâtre
de Complicité by Simon McBurney, Annabel Arden and Marcello Magni,
following their graduation from École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques
Lecoq in Paris. 1 Ever since then the company has cultivated its international
character, collaborative spirit and sensitivity to aesthetic shifts and creative
experimentations, but there are few other features that appear to be con-
stant. On the contrary, Simon McBurney, who has not only been the artis-
tic director but also ‘the fi rst among the equals’ (Gross 1 999) , insists that
there is ‘no pattern, no reason’ in anything he does (McCabe 2 005: 20).
Neither is there, he claims, a particular ‘style’, a single ‘school’ (Morris
interview 36:20–36:40) nor exact ‘method’ (Rintoul and Freedman: 3)
that determines his artistic output. Symptomatically, when asked whether
he could describe his company in just one sentence, he answered: ‘No, I
can’t’ (Dickson interview 2010). It is no accident, then, that the com-
pany’s materials stress that ‘Complicite is a constantly evolving ensemble
of performers and collaborators’. Needless to say, such a ‘promotional’
strategy 2 causes considerable confusion among critics and scholars who,
by defi nition, are supposed to approach the work of a company that makes
special efforts to elude defi nitions, classifi cations and typologies. As Lyn
Gardner has put it, ‘critics have tried and failed to defi ne the essence of
Complicite’ (2 002) .
© The Author(s) 2016 1
T. Wiśniewski, Complicite, Theatre and Aesthetics,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33443-1_1