Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1992 - 42

space are nor losr on Svoboda or Brockhaus. Ar one moment, brighrly colored
oil drums fly across rhe space. Lighring
on rhe grid is provided by ellipsoidal
spors from each side: The lighr is sculprural like dance lighring, in contrasr ro
rhe rop lighr of rhe burgher's domain, rhe
quoridien below. The floor of rhe srage is
made of chips of rubber rires which
uncannily imirare charcoal remains.
Ir is rypical of Svoboda, however, nor
ro show his hand, nor ro reveal everyrhing in a siruarion, and rhen ro exploir
rhis concealmenr. The grid is covered
from above wirh a sheer of rear-projecrion marerial (Folio by Gerriers). Upon
entering rhe rhearre, rhe audience is mer
wirh whar looks like a ceiling ar a conventional heighr of 18 feeL As rhe play
begins, rhe burgherman lighrs his cigar
and casually rhrows away rhe march. The
enrire ceiling explodes
into flame for rhree minures accompanied by a
recired choral secrion.
The flame is provided by
35 mm film from a projecror in rhe lofr area,
projecring onro a 45°
angled mirror and down
rhrough one of rhe openings in rhe former skylighr, onro rhe rear-projecrion screen. As rhe fire
sequence concludes, rhe
Folio is swepr up in a
srartling series of folds by
a counrer-weigh r sysrem
rhar operares like lighring. Suddenly rhe vaulring space above is
revealed; rhe acrors begin ro use rhe arric
space. The play conrinues as a dialogue
berween rhe rwo spaces.
Finding rhe drama ric space rhar
echoes or even counrerpoints a rexr has
been one of Svoboda's lifelong pursuirs.
He has never been shy of exploiring rhe
power in a space. This producrion could
be championed as an example of anion
design, a scenographic rheory rhar has
had advocares especially in Easrern
Europe rhe pasr decade. Bur for Svoboda,
ir is a marrer of insrincr, nor rheory. Any
designer who is concerned wirh rhe
dynamics of space and especially dramaric space is by narure going ro creare a climare rhar srimulares acrors ro new movemenr and ro creare inreracrion wirh rhe
scenographic elemenrs. \Xlirh characrerisric emphasis, Svoboda remarks, "They
rell me rhar rhe design for such and such
a producrion is a really nice seL Now,
whar is a nice ser' \'(fhar could rhar possibly mean, nice ser?" I
40

1992 SPRING

TD&T

Keeping up wirh Josef Svoboda can
be a rrying business. Ar 71, he conrinues
ro work ar whar some rhink is a breakneck pace, and he is consrantly rrying ro
ger rhose half his age ro rhink young.
Much of his work rhar has been publicized has been for proscenium srages,
borh hisroric and modern. Bur unpublished is a lisr of work in smaller seemingly more difficulr spaces. Ir is a rribure ro
him rhar from rhe grander scale of rhe
world's major opera houses ro a smaller

scale of convened and found rhearrical
spaces is no rrial. Responding ro rhe
uniqueness of rhe space is a challenge and
a remprarion. As an archirecr and narive
iconoclasr, Svoboda seems ro be ideally
sui red ro finding rhe power in rhese convened spaces like rhe Raam Thearre in
Anrwerp. His aim is ofren ro acrivare rhe
space wirh a significanr gesrure and no
decor. In rhis respecr ir is relared ro orher
experimenrs he has iniriared rhe pasr
decade exploring rhe norion of zero
scenography.
Edirh Hamilron spoke of rhe sryle of
Aeschylus: A kind of splendid carelessness goes wirh surpassing power. ' Ir will
be inreresring ro see whar develops in
orher rhearres of Anrwerp as ir becomes
rhe culrural capiral of Europe in 1992. ffi
Ron Firman works as a scellographer ill

Berke/e)!, CA, alld ill Europe alld is the
author of "The Millotaurus: Svoboda
Directs" which appeared ill the SUl1lmer
J990 issue ofTD&T.
Endnores
I Josef SvobodJ., personJI ilHcrvicw, Antwerp. April
1991.
Fdidl H3mihon. Tilt' Gruk \\'il)' (;\'ew York: \X'. \\'.
~orron & Co,) 2--l5.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1992