transeuropa'97
European Theatre Festival
Great Britain - Netherlands - Germany - Czech Republic
7 - 13 july 1997

From the 7- 13 July 1997 the Transeuropa e.V. in collaboration with the Institute of Theatre and Media Arts of the University of Hildesheim and the Association for the Support of the Fringe Theatre BUFFO is organizing the second festival of contemporay European theatre in Hildesheim : transeuropa '97.






THE PROGRAMME
(State: june 1997)

THEATRE

2 INTERNATIONAL COPRODUCTIONS GB/CR/NL/D

FIRST CONTACT
An international coproduction with performance artists from Great Britain, Czech Republic and Germany. Subsequent to the festival the coproductions shall tour to the other participating countries. FIRST CONTACT deals with daily experience of us in the global village, the unlimited availability and the myth of telephoning and telephones. A former officers mess and ist wild garden and park is the stage for the destinies the telephone writes. The unvisible ether becomes a very visible drama.
Premiere: Thu 10/7/ 20 h, Fri11/7/ 22.30 h, 14/15/16/7/ 20 h, Officers Mess

THE FASTING ARTIST
Franz Kafka. Internationale Coproduktion with students of the Hogeschol voor de Kunsten Utrecht, Dartington College of Arts, University College of Ripon & York St. John, the Sztuki Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts Prag and the University of Hildesheim.
Premiere: Mo 7/7 20 h, 8/7 22 h, 9/7 24 h, 14/15/16/ / 20 h Eishalle Domäne Marienburg


GREAT BRITAIN

desperate optimists/London shows INDULGENCE (deutsch: Verwöhnung)
Since the company was formed in 1992 they have made award winning theatre work.
Press: "...One of the most refreshing elements of a desperate optimists event is the breadth and depth of their informed perceptions ... performers of conscience and imagination, with thought provoking material... „ (The Herald)
„... artfully slack, episodic structure ... an extraordinarily fresh and vivid evening of lo-fi aesthetics and hi-fi cunning.“ ( The Irish Times)
Tue 8/7 20 h, Wed 9/7 22.30 h, Kulturfabrik Löseke

Negotiations with the second British company are still in process.


NETHERLANDS

Suver Nuver/Amsterdam shows RISK
Formed in 1987 the Amsterdam based, award winning (Dutch Mime Prize) company Suver Nuver is reknown for their autobiorgraphical and associative physical theatre. They make hilarious theatrical statments, based on personal involvement and a unique and often absurd point of view. The themes explored in their productions are ususally controversial both for themselves and for the audience.
Press: ".... i have seldom visited the theatre and found the experience so enervating (in the true sense of the word)“ (Het Parool)
„Suver Nuver have chosen to pöay an ever more revealing party game, a form of theatrical strip-poker. Each brown-paper bag sparks the demolotion of another strip of reinforced mental concrete.“ (De Groene Amsterdammer)
Sa 12/7 20 h, Sun 13/7 22 h, Kulturfabrik Löseke


CZECH REPUBLIC

Divadlo v Dlouhé shows the ADVENTURES OF DON QUICHOTTE
1996, three years after the company was founded by graduates from the Academy of Music and Arts Prag, they were given an own house for their extraordinary work. In the last years they have made award winning work and toured extensively in Europe.
Additional to the actors puppets move on the fantastic story. Rosinante, one of the marvellous ones, is full of melancholy and Don Quichotte falls in love with Sancho. Live-music, pupptes, action and humour are the ingredients of this new Don Quichotte.
Wed 9/7 20 h, Kulturfabrik Löseke


GERMANY

Theater Mahagoni/ Theaterhaus Jena show DIE VERSCHWÖRUNG DER IDIOTEN
IMPULSE-Award 1996. Founded in 1985 the Hildesheim based THEATER MAHAGONI has won several awards.
Press: „Mahagoni was the queerest, most wicked, ill-tempered and most vital production of the IMPULSE -Festival. IGNAZ OR THE CONSPIRACY OF THE IDIOTS ... the highlight of the festival ..“ (Theater Heute 2/97)
"At one point there was the cue for this kind of theatre. Pulb Fiction. It has something of the coolness, of the style of Qeuntin Tarantino, especially as fas as the quick, perfectly timed scenes are concerned.“
(Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Fri 11/7 20 h, Sat 12/7 18 h, Eishalle Domäne Marienburg


FRAME

LECTURES/TALKS

European Theatre: Great Britain
Tim Etchells/Forced Entertainment/ GB; Wednesday, 9July 16 h
European Theatre: Netherlands
Siemke Böhnisch, Sunday, 13 July, 16 h
European Theatre: Germany
Mario Stumpfe/theater der zeit, Saturday 12 July , 11 h
European Thetre: Czech Republik
Ondrey Cerny, International Theatre Institute Prague, Thurday, 10 July 16 h


PANEL DISCUSSION

„Do we need a European Theatre ?“ (in German language)
with Tom Stromberg (Director of Arts EXPO 2000,moderation), Marie Zimmermann, (THEATERFORMEN 1998) Dr. Martin Kreuzberg (Director of the City Theatre), Hanna Hurtzig (biennale Bonn, wanted), Christoph Schlingensief (Director and filmmaker Berlin, wanted), Prof. Dr. Hajo Kurzenberger (University of Hildesheim) Saturday, 12 July 15 h, Foyer Town Theatre


WORKSHOPS

The participants will be introduced into the working methods of the companies.


1ST UND ENDPARTY:

Mo 7/7 23 h, Su 13/7 0 h, Country Nights from 0 h on.


4 FILMS FROM 4 COUNTRIES

10. Juni: Funny Bones, Regie: Peter Chelson (GB)
17. Juni: Accumulator 1, Regie: Jan Sverak (CR)
24. Juni: Nordländer, Regie: Alex van Warmedam (NL)
2. Juli: BEST OFF deutsche Filmhochschulen (HFF München, HFF Potsdam, DFF Berlin, FA Ludwigsburg)


EAST AND WEST

transeuropa '97 wants to bring about exchange. It supports critical discussions and opens the view on the cultural landscapes of Europe. The idea is to draw an imaginary line on the map of Europe, which links the West with the East. In 1997 it goes from Dartington via Utrecht and Hildesheim to Prag. This line turns from festival to festival like the finger of a clock and determines the participating countries. The partnercountries for 1997 are in the East the Czech Republic and in the West the Netherlands and Great Britain.


COOPERATION AND PRESENTATION

As opposed to festivals which concentrate exclusively on the presentation of productions, a central point of transeuropa'97 is to bring about artistic cooperation and supply a platform form crossborder artistic research. Therefore transeuropa’97 initiates two international coproductions, which will be produced exclusively for the festival. Both international shows will be produced in a four-week rehearsing period in Hildesheim and will be presented on the festival
Furthermore transeuropa '97 shows 6 productions of four countries. Thus the festival offers a broad audience in Hildesheim and the region an insight into different approaches to performance work. Simultaneously it is a forum for discussion on contemporary theatre concepts, aesthetics, aspects of the working process, training methods and the relation between theory and practice in performance arts.


CONTINUITY

In the 1994 festival the dutch contribution sparked off a new approach to perfoming arts and theatre. The extraordinary performance became subject of numerous academic seminars and dissertations. transeuropa '97 will follow up the development of the Dutch theater scene, continue the dialogue and deepen the exchange with a our western neighbour. We consider this continuity concept as one of the main feature and quality of the transeuropa festival. The principle of a repeated invitation shall be kept for the future festivals. One of the partners for transeuropa’97 will be invited again in transeuropa 2000.


THE COUNTRIES

Great Britain
Although seperated by the channel, the island belongs to the core of European culture. Often the view is focused on London, the big city. But Great Britain is more than Greater London. Especially in the performing arts the island is something of an unknown country, which is still to be discovered. The British theatre szene is promising. A lot of universities offer high quality cources in theatre and performing arts. The professional Off-Theatre Scene is diverse with an equally innovative as critical and experimenting approach to theatrical forms. For the international coproduction of students, the University of Hildesheim will cooperate with the College of Arts Dartington. First exploratory talks have been very successful, there is a great interest in a long-term academic and artistic cooperation. Already in summer of 1996 there will be a first exchange, which will be continued and extended at transeuropa'97. At a research trip to Great Britain the head of the festival team had the opportunity to see several Companies, from which two have been short-listed. Under discussion is Forced Entertainment (Sheffield) and desperate optimists (London).

Netherlands
With regard to the line on the European map, the Netherlands are the geographical bridge between Great Britain, Germany and the Czech Republic. Having already been a partner for transeuropa '94, the dutch company SUVER NUVER will participate in transeuropa in 1997 with one of their new show. Students from the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht will participate in the International Student Coproduction..

Czech Republic
The Czech-German relationship is still burdend by emotions, which often obstruct and disturb the prospect of a common future. The crucial problem of the German relation to Prag is still the property claims of the Germans, who have been driven out of their lands after the Second World War. Yet the encounters and meetings between young people from both nations, which take place everyday not only in Prag but elsewhere in Germany and the Czech Republic will finally overcome the resentment and smooth the way for a normal relationship. Providing a forward-looking forum for meetings, discussion and artistic cooperation the European Theatre Festival transeuropa '97 wants to support this process of mutual understanding and fruitful co-existence between the Czech Republic and Germany. An exchange programme between the Akademia Sztuki in Prag, the future Partner University of Hildesheim, will be organized for the International Student Coproduction in summer of 1997.


transeuropa '97 IN HILDESHEIM

Hildesheim, with its academic course Angewandte Kulturwissenschaften at the University and a number of professional Off-Theater Companies is an ideal venue for the festival. The Institute of Theatre Arts has more than once proved its innovative potential: in the last years it has presented valid and new ideas in theatre theory and has developed its own methods of composition, performance and devising (non-illustrative narrative theatre). The remarkable features of the fringe theatre scene in Hildesheim are the great diversity of the companies, the high quality of the productions, the experimental approach to the practical work and the interest in new dramatic forms.

Transeuropa e.V. together with the University of Hildesheim and in cooperation with BUFFO e.V. provides the necessairy infrastructure, manpower and knowledge to organize Transeuropa '97. The University can offer well equipped rehearsing and playing facilities : three stages in the University will be at disposal for the festival. In order to increase the presence of the festival in the town of Hildesheim it is planned to use public places for the performances ( street, churches, parks, station).


The first time: transeuropa 1994

transeuropa’94 gave insight into the different dramatic languages and performance concepts of Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Two international coproductions Common Sense and Station Europe, which were produced for the Festival, were subject of controversial discussion. Along with the performances, lectures and talks supplied a contextualizing framework on cultural production, history and present political situation of the participating countries. transeuropa '94 has proved that artistic cooperation and dialogue is possible and above all necessairy to unmask national stereotypes and to develop an understanding for artistic languages. The acknowledgements, we received from foreign guests and the audience, as well as the great interest the regional and national media took in the event, has confirmed the concept of the festival.


Facts and Figures transeuropa’94

1200 visitors at seven different venues in Hildesheim
81 artists, lectures, panelists and mulitplicators from four European countries
39 events
10 performances in six days
two premieres of the international coproductions
Aufführungsreihe der internationalen Festivalkoproduktion auf Festivals in Polen und Belgien
6 First Showings in Germany in Hildesheim
10 colloques, discussions and workshops
7 parties, nightcafes and gigs at the nightprogramme
5 lectures and 1 prominent panel discussion with Jan Hoet (Director of documenta IX), Ryscard Kapuczinski (European Bookprizewinner 1995), Prof. Dr.Hermann Glaser (Journalist, author) Peter Wien (arte), Clemens Wannenmacher (Kampnagel Hamburg), Anna Langhoff (Director/Author Deutsches Theater Berlin)
4 first film showings in Hildesheim

more than 40 press reports (regional and national: HAZ; Hannoversche Allgemeine, Neue Presse Hannover, Wochenpost, Theater heute, Theater der Zeit, PRINZ; SCHÄDELSPALTER; forte, EU-Journal etc.), TV- (SAT 1) and radioreports (ffn, NDR 1, 3 und 4, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Süddeutscher Rundfunk, Deutschlandfunk)

Supported by the Ministry for Science and Culture Lower Saxony, Lotto Foundation, City of Hildesheim, British Council. Sponsored by Gerstenberg GbmH, Einbecker Brauhaus AG.


Contact:
Uta Schnell
Viola Hasselberg
tel: 0049 - 51 21 - 2097 27
fax: 0049- 51 21 - 2097-29