Betontanc: EVERY WORD A GOLD COIN`S WORTH
How I became an Andersen hero
When the famous child from a story by Hans Christian Andersen announces with innocent frankness that the Emperor is naked, he liberates us from our miserable pretences and forces us involuntarily to face the real state of things. But we still make fools of ourselves with this kind of illusion of art, which has been sold to us since time immemorial, even though it is a lie. Because theater comes alive at the moment when we are prepared to believe in the lie, when in fact we believe that what we see is true – although we know that it is not – it is precisely because of this that we step into the lie. If we were starting revolutions, we would take over the court, unlike the French students in May, 1968, when they took over the theater, the place of lies. I have no illusions about revolution. I do not know the truth nor can I tell it to you, that is why I prefer to be a liar. And the best one, at that.
Dedicated to Betontanc, December 1989
Credits
- Directed by: Matjaž Pograjc
- Conceived and performed by: Alma Blagdanič, Igor Dragar, Janja Majzelj, Blažka Müller, Ivan Peternelj, Matej Recer
- Music by: Mitja Vrhovnik – Smrekar
- Set design: Gregor Fon, Marko Goljevšček, Matjaž Pograjc, Tomaž Štrucl
- Lighting design: Denis Tankovič
- Costumes: Denis Dautović
- Designer: Egon Bavčar, Studio marketing
- Stage manager: Marko Goljevšček
- Production: Gledališče Glej
- The performance was made possible by: Ministry of Culture, City Council of Ljubljana
Photo: Diego Andrés Gómez, Tina Ruisinger
Video:Bunker archive
Editors: Gregor Gobec, Urška Boljkovac
Additional informations
Premiere:
19th February 1992, Budapest
Past performances:
- February 1992, PATROFI HALL, Budapest
- May 1992, EURODANSE FESTIVAL, Mulhous
- June 1992, BAGNOLET ’92, Paris
- September 1992, ZUERCHER THEATRE SPEKTAKEL, Zurich
- October 1992, THEATER IM KUNSTLERHAUS/ THE FESTIVAL IMAGE, Vienna
- October 1992, BORŠTNIKOVO SREČANJE, Maribor
- January 1993, BELGIAN TOUR, Kortrijk, Aalst
- January 1993, THE PLACE THEATRE/ THE SPRING LOADED FESTIVAL, London
- February 1993, MOUSONTURM/ OFF THEATRE AM TURM, Frankfurt
- May 1993, UNIKUM/THE FESTIVAL MOVEMENTS, Klagenfurt
- June 1993, TJEDAN SUVREMENOG PLESA, Zagreb
- July 1993, THE NATUR IM KOPF FESTIVAL, Stuttgart
- September 1993, TANZ UND THEATER INTERNATIONAL HANNOVER, Hannover
- November 1993, EL THEATRE, Tunis
- May 1994, LA MAMMA, New York
- May 1994, ON THE BOARDS, Seattle
- July 1994, INTERNATIONALES SOMMERTHEATER FESTIVAL, Hamburg
- September 1994, VILA BLED, Bled
- October 1994, FESTSPIELHAUS HELLERAU, Dresden
- September 1995, MOT, Skopje
- October 1995, MANOVER 95, Leipzig
- March 1996, NEW MOVES, Glasgow
- March 1996, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL, Adelaide
- June 1996, ISRAEL FESTIVAL, Jerusalem
- July 1996, THEATERFESTIVAL, Isny
- June 1997, FILO Festival, Londrina
- June 1998, Festival A PART, Katowice
Critics
Misha Berson: From a lush land, startling movement, The Seattle Times, 19. 5. 1994
Jennifer Dunning: Oppression Gently Builds, The New York Times, 14. 5. 1994
Penelope Debelle: Dancers slam againt more than mental walls, Adelaide Advertiser, 13. 3. 1996
John Blake: A strong evocation of social chaos, Seattle Post Inteligence, 21. 5. 1994
