XI Edition - comstampa
Europe Theatre PrizeThessaloniki, Greece, 26 – 29 April 2007
The XI Edition of the Europe Theatre Prize will take place in Thessaloniki,
Greece from 26th to 29th April 2007. The Europe Theatre Prize is the most
important European acknowledgement awarded to an artist’s theatrical work
considered in its broadest meaning.
After the enormous response to last year’s edition – hosted by the Municipality
and the Teatro Stabile of Turin – created by the unforgettable presence and
speeches of Harold Pinter, winner of the Europe Theatre Prize, this year’s
event has been financed by the Greek Ministry of Culture. The events will be
organized in collaboration with the National Theatre of Northern Greece, which
will host the Europe Theatre Prize in its venues.
The Europe Theatre Prize was created in 1986 as a pilot programme of the
European Commission and it has been recognised by the European Parliament and
Council as a “European cultural interest organisation”. The Union of European
Theatres and the European Theatre Convention are associate and supporting
bodies; other associate bodies are the International Association of Theatre
Critics, the Mediterranean Theatre Institute and the International Theatre
Institute UNESCO.
Over four days, the prize-winners are the object of meetings, colloquia and
demonstrations of work, including. open rehearsals, performances, lectures and
videos. The Europe Theatre Prize has become since its very first edition an
important rendezvous for theatre people coming from all over the world:
artists, men of culture, critics, journalists from the leading newspapers of
the world, University professors, theatre and Festival directors.
The International Jury of the Europe Theatre Prize, which gathered in Turin,
has given the award for the XI Edition ex-aequo to Robert Lepage and Peter
Zadek.
Robert Lepage was born in Québec City in 1957. He is one of the most
interesting directors in contemporary theatre. Lepage’s approach to the scene
does not take into consideration any boundaries; his work mixes with great
ability scenic and visual features, texts, music and new technologies. The
combination of these features shapes a unique theatre, constantly marked by a
highly visual and mature quality, never spoilt by any redundancies nor by any
excess in performance.
Peter Zadek during his long career - which started in England and continued for
over forty years in Germany - has revitalised the art of theatre direction,
both working directly on texts with “his” actors and through a “conceptual” way
of directing. Thus he found (and still finds) his personal visions and vivid
impacts of every play, his “saints” being Shakespeare, Ibsen and Tschechow.
In previous editions, the Europe Theatre Prize has been awarded to: Ariane
Mnouchkine and Théâtre du Soleil, Peter Brook, Giorgio Strehler, Heiner Müller,
Robert Wilson, Luca Ronconi, Pina Bausch, Lev Dodin, Michel Piccoli and Harold
Pinter.
The IX Europe Prize for New Theatrical Realities has been awarded to Biljana
Srbljanovic and Alvis Hermanis.
Biljana Srbljanovic, a Serbian playwright, was born in Belgrade in 1970. Her
irony and deep pessimism hide, in reality, a precise commitment to assert –
from a Serbian perspective – some fundamental values in order to establish a
new and broader European cultural and political space, based on freedom,
democracy and respect for all diversities.
Alvis Hermanis, born in 1965, actor, writer and set designer of his own
performances, has become a figure of importance in Latvian and subsequently
European theatre. His productions, which are often adaptations of literary
works, have been increasingly invited in the last few years to the most
important Festivals.
In previous editions, the Europe Prize for New Theatrical Realities has been
awarded to: (I)Anatolij Vasiliev, (II) Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, Comediants,
Eimuntas Nekrosius, (III)Théâtre de Complicité, Carte Blanche – Compagnia della
Fortezza, (IV)Christoph Marthaler, (V)Royal Court Theatre of London for
discovering and promoting young playwrights, (VI)Theatergroep Hollandia, Thomas
Ostermeier, Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio, (VII)Heiner Goebbels, Alain Platel,
(VIII)Oskaras Korsunovas, Josef Nadj.
This year’s celebration will end on the evening of Sunday, 29th April 2007 with
the official Prize-giving Ceremony.