Prague 12 – 19 May 2009
Strasbourg 29 September – 7 October 2008
Ljubljana 16 – 25 May 2008
After its success in France and Slovenia, EuroGlobe comes to the Czech Republic! Together with a broad range of Czech partners – among them actors, poets, musicians and youth organisations – EuroGlobe invites people to explore the concept of 180 Degrees.
180 Degrees reflects our idea of combining in our programme different genres in an unusual way. Therefore, the programme ranges from theatre performances to hip hop battles, from political debates to poetry slam contests. The inspiration for this concept comes from William Shakespeare. EuroGlobe builds on the tradition of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, which placed the interaction between the audience and the performers at the centre. By providing a 180-degree stage in his London Globe Theatre and by leaving the lights on during his plays, Shakespeare created a situation where everybody could see each other, whereby actors, producers and the audience must all be prepared to change their perspectives and engage with each other in a different way. This participatory form of dialogue – where the border between performers and audience dissolves – represents the main idea of EuroGlobe.
With our programme, we want to reach the most diverse audiences regarding age, nationality, beliefs, orientation, background and thoughts and establish a real 180-degree situation in our contests and debates. The idea of 180 Degrees allows us to go under the surface, highlight diversity and inspire new ways of thinking and exchange in theatre, literature, music and politics. Apart from this, EuroGlobe also wants to encourage a continuous dialogue between artists in all three countries though the establishment of the EuroGlobe Network.
EuroGlobe Programme
1. EUROGLOBE THEATER
A central component of the project in Slovenia, France and Czech Republic is the performance of two Shakespeare plays, translated into the languages of the respective EU Presidency country. We have chosen William Shakespeare, as his works have continued to fascinate the audience all over Europe throughout the centuries and inspire new interpretations to reflect our (European) society today. His plays are timeless and have such a powerful impact that they continually open up new approaches. The Berlin company SHAKESPEARE und PARTNER will provide three evenings of plays:
• Romeo und Juliet
By William Shakespeare
The war must end! This is the main message of the Shakespeare play and is there any play existing that reflects in such a brilliant manner about love, death, force, religiousness, friendship, hate, separation, locality, anxiety and eternity like “Romeo and Juliet”? Everything that men and women in love experienced and will experience in the future is summarised in this extraordinary play.
• Timon of Athens
By William Shakespeare
This play is about excessive philanthropy and excessive misanthropy. It offers strong themes to the point of grotesqueness and swings between comedy and tragedy. The play is often commended due to its wisdom, but is said to be too difficult to be played. SHAKESPEARE und PARTNER show that “Timon of Athens” can be realised on stage according to the tradition of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
• Die Brüder Grimm
Written by Dagmar Papula
Everybody all over Europe knows the stories of the brothers Grimm, but who knows about their lives? “Brothers Grimm” is a play for adults about friendship in bad times and about the first democratic steps in Germany in the context of the events in 1848 of the Frankfurt Paulskirche. It teaches us about political character, personal honour and integrity.
• EuroGlobe Lecture: Shakespeare at his stage
The lecture is based on Norbert Kentrup’s extensive experiences and knowledge of Shakespeare’s characters. He has played King Lear, Othello, Maria, Falstaff, Titus Andronicus, Macbeth, Sir Toby, Timon of Athens and others. He has also directed various plays within Shakespeare’s Globe, such as “Pericles”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Macbeth” and “Twelfth Night”. To this day, he is the only German actor to have received the honour to perform in the London Globe Theatre. He played the role of Shylock in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” for one season in this unique building. The topic of Kentrup’s lecture is the relationship between space on the Elizabethan stage, acting and directing.
• EuroGlobe Theatre Workshop:
Acting in the “Wooden O”
Shakespearean theatre was a form that relied on an open stage, but it was forgotten when Shakespeare’s theatre disappeared in 1642. Only after the Globe Theatre in London was reconstructed in the late 1990s was Shakespeare’s philosophy of acting revived. Shakespeare’s theatre is very different from the rare show theatre, which has become widespread in modern times. It requires a particular way of acting and a certain attitude towards the audience.
The workshop will provide the possibility to experience Shakespeare’s “folk theatre”, and to learn more about Shakespeare’s dramaturgy, which is characterised by a mixture of all forms and types of characters: kings, comedians and nobles. In addition, the workshop leader, renowned actor of Shakespeare plays, Norbert Kentrup, is going to provide insights into Shakespeare’s world and elaborate on the question as to why and how Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre are relevant to today’s politics.
• EuroGlobe Open Stage
Our partner for the EuroGlobe Open Stage in Prague is the DISK Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts (DAMU). Norbert Kentrup will be working with students of the graduating acting classes during the EuroGlobe workshop and lecture in February 2009. The academy’s students are trained in classical acting. Together with Kentrup, they are going to work on scenes from Shakespeare’s plays and learn about the role of open space in Shakespearean theatre and acting.
The results of Norbert Kentrup’s workshop at the DAMU will be presented as an open lecture during the ZLOMVAZ Theatre Festival, which was established in 1994 at the initiative of students from the Production Department at the Drama Faculty of the Academy of the Musical Arts as an opportunity for the students and teachers from Czech and Slovak academies of performing arts to meet. Young theatre-makers from Brno and Bratislava will have the opportunity to meet Norbert Kentrup and reflect on Shakespeare’s theatre as well as on the results of the work of their colleagues at the Prague Academy.
2. EUROGLOBE POETRY SLAM COMPETITION
In Ljubljana and Strasbourg, the poetry slams brought together an incredible amount of artists and large audiences and gained a lot of attention due to their innovative ways of communication. During the last EuroGlobe stop, in Strasbourg, the Troc´afe was filled to the limits with people that wanted to take part in exploring Europe, languages and the power of words at the EuroGlobe Poetry Slam. The winner from Strasbourg, Eli Finberg, will come to Prague to participate in the EuroGlobe Czech Poetry Slam. Together with the Prague Poetry Slam scene, EuroGlobe will stage a competition on the topic “180 degrees” in Rubin where words will question, shape and explore the way we act and interact with each other today in Europe.
3. EUROGLOBE HIP HOP FREESTYLE
In each country where EuroGlobe is present – Slovenia, France and the Czech Republic – one evening is dedicated to the beats and improvisations of local youth in a rap/hip hop freestyle battle with the title “180 degrees”.
In Strasbourg, over 200 people joined in to feel the beats and moves of over 30 hip hop dancers from all over France in a several-hours-long battle. The hip hop federation 68, the main partner and organiser of the event, made a strong statement for how hip hop brings young people together – irrelevant of their background, language or age – to exchange, learn and, above all, have fun. The winner from Strasbourg, Karim Barbouchi, will travel to Prague to perform at EuroGlobe together with the Czech crowd that will compete at the EuroGlobe rap/hip hop freestyle battle in Prague.
4. EUROGLOBE GOES POLITICAL
• EuroGlobe Initiative on Combating Trafficking – New Strategies and Measures
What are the causes of trafficking? How can we prevent it? And, above all, what are the actions decision-makers need to take jointly in various countries in order to prevent it? Together with a consortium of different human rights groups working on the topic of trafficking, a challenging public debate will be hosted under the umbrella of the EuroGlobe. Invited experts in the field will reflect both on the political and social dimensions when tackling the problems of trafficking. By including high-profile guests and various partners and institutions active in this field, we aim to involve as many people as possible in both reflecting on and finding a solution to the problem, both at the podium and in the audience. The main intention of this event is to encourage a real exchange and go beyond the level oflip service.
• Euro Globe Agora
What are Czech NGOs’ top priorities for the future?
EuroGlobe is a place to meet, exchange and discuss the society we live in – a place for active participation. In the Civil Society Agora, we want to offer a place where youth organisations can voice their top priorities for the future and, furthermore, have the opportunity to deliver these to the European decision-makers, just a few weeks before the European Parliament election.
The event is being staged jointly with the National Youth Council of the Czech Republic – an umbrella organisation that includes nearly 100 youth organisations. All member organisations of the Youth Council will be invited to use the Agora to put forward the main challenges and priorities they see for the Europe of tomorrow. They will have the unique opportunity to debate their concerns with the entire Agora and also with the high-profile invited guests coming from the Commission, Members of European Parliament, national Members of Parliament as well as the bureau of the European Youth Forum. A film will be produced documenting the outcomes of the Agora and presented at an EU high-level event to reach decision-makers and civil society actors from all over Europe.
