Spill - Britain's Experimental Theatre Festival

Robert Pacitti started the Spill Festival back in 2007. Now in it's second biennial outing, Pacitti answers some questions from The Guardian, such as: What is happening in experimental theatre now?, What risks can Spill 2009 audiences expect?, For Spill 2007, 65 per cent of audiences were under 26. Why is this work so appealing to young people? and How does the work in Spill differ from traditional theatre? Click here for the answers.

Applications for Romania's man.in.fest 2009

man.in.fest is a non-competitive international experimental theatre festival taking place between the 18th and 25 October 2009 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and organized by Teatrul Imposibil (The Impossible Theatre), an independent Cultural Association located in Cluj-Napoca. man.in.fest is an event addressing young people (15-45), artists and public, both from Romania and abroad, interested in new/experimental arts and media, as they are the ones whose new perception needs and social references are served by the experimental artistic field. Also, either as public or as artists they need this kind of collaborative activities in order to have access to different perspectives on the cultural, political and social issues, through art. The participants will be “cultural ambassadors” of their countries, and will have the opportunity to represent their national cultural specificity. In the same time the event will offer them the time and the place to exchange experiences and points of view and to work in unfamiliar media, in order to challenge their creativity and to discover other perspectives, as a result of our across borders intercultural approach. Applications are due 1 March 2009.

Festival de Teatro Experimental

submitted by Jake Witlin

For those of you in and around Ecuador for the next few weeks, make sure not to miss the 11th annual FITE (festival de international theatro experimental). I had the great pleasure of taking in two shows, of which I can highly recommend both.

First, the street performers David Berga, Ferran Aixalà, Oriol Aubets, Jordi Huete, Jaume Jové, all from Spain, delight with an outdoor show of mime, mimickry and general merrymaking in EFS (¨Encara Farem Salat¨). Set against the backdrop of a funeral, the procession starts somber enough, as the four wiry actors carry a coffin thru Mariscal Foch, stopping in front of several coffee shops, where a crowd quickly gathers. Over the course of the next hour, we are taken on a humorous ride of pratfalls and wonderful mime as they try desperately to find the missing body!

The second, and more traditional show, comes from Uruguay, and was a truly unique experience. Josep Pere Peyró´s ¨Una Lluvia Irlandesa¨ is a touching and poetic look inside the psychologies of a young woman seeking to let go of a love, and the man who continually psychoanalyzes her, remarking that without feeling, there is no where else to go. Taking place inside of the hip and happening bar Pobre Diablo, the actors comfortably navigated the mess of tables and chairs, to leave the audience with a sense of wonder and awe as we voyeuristically witness the birth, then death of love without emotion. Underscored with a haunting score, it is not to be missed. Click here for more information.