STREET ARTISTS IN EUROPE - Fondazione Fitzcarraldo

Street Artists in Europe
This different approach is, in our opinion, the result of different development stages of the role
and function of the theatre in society. And, while at the moment of creation of ‘Theatre in Nontheatre
Spaces’ (1995-1998) we would be willing to agree with Tyszka, the current situation
seems to confirm the diagnosis of Valentini. This is due to, at least, a few reasons. As remarked
by Agata Skórzyska, “inclination to transgressive behaviour, characteristic of the artistic
bohemians of mid 19th century was mirrored in, among other things, creating an alternative life
style. Meanwhile, at the end of the 20th century, Avant-garde strategies of shocking, crossing
borders, creating daily life based on aesthetic and artistic design of modernism, became food for
pop culture. Thus, they became global in character and were revealed in such phenomena as
aesthetics or theatricality of daily life” 442 . The change, which took place in culture due to,
among other things, society’s transformation from the society of production to the society of
consumption, the establishment of new sources of consumption 443 , which led to spectacularity of
the public space, caused the deprivation of the street theatre of its power to change and destroy.
Street theatre, which seemed to be a way to contest the culture which sanctioned the objectifying
of interpersonal relations – free of charge, in a common, public space, not governed by the rules
of the market, ephemeral and spontaneous, also was the victim of those changes. Out of the
current perspective, it is obvious that the road which the street theatre took from being the
spokesperson of rebellion to the contemporary, comfortable entertainment for mass audience is
disturbingly similar to the road taken by the indoor theatre.
Is it possible to see theatre in a street, in Poland, nowadays? Not necessarily. This is usually
possible in certain, special, circumstances called festivals. The description of Schechner, already
cited here, fits these events brilliantly. During the festivals, street theatres are focused on a
certain part of a city – usually famous ‘non-theatrical places.’ What are these places? I will give
examples of three, this year’s street theatre festivals in Poland. Poznan (Malta) – recreational
area at the Malta Lake or the ‘city in the city,’ i.e. the Old Slaughterhouse – allotted postindustrial
area; Warsaw (Sztuka Ulicy/Street Art) – the Agrykola park, the Mokotowskie Field;
Szczecin (Artysci Ulicy/Street Artists) – the castle courtyard, a university campus at former
barracks, therefore, well isolated from the city. Time - allotted, one might even say - special, but
it can also be described as selected in such a way that it does not ‘distract from the mercantile
process’ and ‘does not divert people from their daily routine?’ The festival, similarly to the
theatre quarter, ‘whets consumers’ appetite, offering a whole range of performances.’ And is it
not true that ‘competition among theatres is fierce, but the battle is about clients, and not the
award,’ since the measure of success is the number of thousands of spectators, who came to see
the performance? And even though the theatre happens without a building, it is still isolated
from the ‘street’ – its chaos and unpredictability.
A theatre, which currently wants to enter public space - a street, a square, a trade hall or a
factory, enters a reality which has already been theatricised, since – as remarked almost 40 years
ago by Guy Debord – “a spectacle constitutes currently a model of socially dominating life. It is
an omnipresent confirmation of a choice already taken, both in production and in its derivative
consumption” and thus “performance is the basic production of the current society.” 444 Let the
examples of this theatralisation (George Ritzer uses the term ‘magicality’ in this context, but we
442 Agata Skórzynska, Theatre in the World of Pacified Carnival. In: World Reversed..., p. 117.
443 “Places, which facilitate buying lots of products and services, encourage or even force to it”. George Ritzer,
Magical World of Consumption, Warsaw 2001, p. 15.
As new forms of consumption Ritzer enumerates shopping centres, but also theme parks, excursion ships, sport
centres, and even museums, hospitals and educational centres.
444 Guy Debord, Society of Spectacle, Gdansk, 1998, p.12, 14.
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PE 375.307