“Our Directors Create Worlds”
„The relationship between man and transcendence is one of the central themes of the programme.“
Director of Drama Marina Davydova discusses her artistic debut at the Salzburg Festival, the great themes of the programme and plays as compositions.
Before taking over the drama department of the Salzburg Festival, Davydova made an international name for herself as the artistic director of the NET Festival (New European Theatre) and as the director of drama for the Wiener Festwochen, as well as an author and director. At the Salzburg Festival, she concentrates on a harmonic mix between internationality and the traditional, German-language repertoire. At the same time, in an era of rapid and challenging political developments, she insists on broadening the gaze and focusing on the great issues of being human.
Is there an overarching theme in the drama programme? A red thread?
Since I took over the drama department amidst such horrible historical events – which also affected my own life – I originally thought to focus on political developments. However, it quickly became clear that an event such as the Salzburg Festival, with such a long planning period, cannot keep pace with this reality and its rapid changes. That is why I decided to concentrate on more universal topics – let’s call them the eternal questions of being human. Since I began conceiving the programme, war has broken out in Gaza, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has flared up, and others too. The relationship between humanity and, if you will, transcendency is one of the central themes running through the programme. Nicolas Stemann takes this up in the Die Orestie – the relationship between humans and the gods. For his text version, he is using not only Aeschylus, but also Sophocles and Euripides, each of whom have a very different view of the gods. Krystian Lupa, whom I consider one of the greatest philosophers among the directors of our time, explores human existnce, meaning, and the search for meaning. Another important aspect is the interaction between humanity and history. The first item on the programme is Stefan Zweig’s Sternstunden der Menschheit, a play firmly oriented towards history. And Thom Luz is a director who doesn’t just put a book on stage – rather, it will be a symphony of sounds and images; props and sets will play their own roles. The most important thing, however, is that he is integrating Stefan Zweig’s biography into the play – and through that life history, the history of the 20th century.
Ultimately, war and its effects on people are a recurring theme, however: Agamemnon kills his daughter in order to go to war, setting the Die Orestie in motion. The Magic Mountain is set on the eve of World War I. Sternstunden der Menschheit also discusses Waterloo, and its author was so profoundly uprooted by World War II that he finally took his own life.
There are also pieces to which this does not apply – for example Spiegelneuronen or Alexander Ekman’s Midsummer Night’s Dream – but yes, you are right. That was not one of my criteria. But of course it is not a coincidence either – talented artists are highly attentive and attuned to what happens around them. When we began discussing possible plays, many of them chose subjects connected to war.
Heiner Goebbels’ Everything that happened and would happen is described as a “multi-disciplinary performance”. What can we imagine that to mean?
Heiner has several sources of inspiration. One of them is a very interesting – and also funny – book by the Czech author and historian Patrik Ouředník, Europeana – A Brief History of Europe in the Twentieth Century. In it, he describes not only the great developments – the invention of the fountain pen features in it just as much as the outbreak of World War II. Thus, the performance is based on a history book. At the same time, Heiner is inspired by the works of John Cage. What makes the performance so extraordinary to me, however, is the live-stream from Euronews. While we follow the various complex musical and kinetic compositions, we are also watching the live news broadcast, uncommented. What happens on stage will have a new meaning during each performance, because it will happen in a different news context.
Let’s talk about Forgotten Plays (Vergessene Stücke)– how did this idea come about?
On the one hand, I was asked, and also had the idea myself, to assemble a very international programme – previously, the drama programme was strongly focused on German-language theatre. On the other hand, however, there was a wish to give German-language works a place. I wanted to do justice to both expectations. So I decided that we should feature something that was not just German, but truly Austrian. We met with Simon Strauß, and he had the idea of creating an event dedicated to forgotten texts and plays. So we began to discuss what that actually means: “forgotten”? What is just forgotten, and what is rejected? Is censorship only political censorship, or can it be wielded by the audience? The production itself will be a very special combination of readings, exhibitions, discussions and musical parts – very immersive, in general. We will touch upon many important aspects and problems, perhaps even together with the audience, for there will be discussions. And I think there will also be possibilities to ask questions. Altogether, it will be a very intriguing two-day marathon.
Let’s return one more time to Sternstunden: in it, Stefan Zweig describes 14 different historical moments – how does one make a selection for the stage?
I don’t know which of the miniatures Thom Luz is ultimately using – the only thing I know for sure is that the protagonist of the performance is Stefan Zweig himself. Thom is not a classical narrator – he is using Zweig’s works as inspiration. He creates a special and complicated world from all the stories which will coexist on stage, and transforms them into his very own composition. In general, I must say that our directors are very creative; they create their very own worlds.
Barbara Wallner
Translation: Alexa Nieschlag
First published on 11.05.2024 in Die Presse Kultur Spezial: Salzburg Festival