Press File - Kunstenfestivaldesarts

logic of The Bad Infinity is an attempt to suggest the logic of this decayed act of collective
imagining. It is not interesting at this point in human time to portray the real world as it seems to
be in its own terms; but it is interesting to unfold, in human terms, the logic of its illogic and so
get at the nut of our contemporary human experience. I am a pessimist, but a cheerful one. I
believe, along with Beckett and Handke and Witkiewicz, that the depth is on the surface. The
inside is on the outside. But we are not less human because our hopes and dreams and wishes
are the stuff of advertising slogans and images; that would be to succumb to the repetitions to
the idols of ourselves. No, it is simply that our relation to the drama of our lives has become
more complex, reflexive, recondite even. It matters who is behind the reassuring voice, the fine
gesture, the eloquent phrase about freedom, liberty, and equality. Villains no longer look like
villains {did they ever?), nor perhaps do heroes and heroines. We live in a low and contemptible
time, a time when ideals are mocked and scorned, when the merely human is expendable,
when those in position of official trust have put aside any pretence to disinterestedness and
practice openly the grossest kind of self-aggrandizement. Theater, as a minor province of
journalism – and that is what the current theater establishment amounts to in my opinion – has
accommodated itself to this state of affairs with nary a blush. I do not believe I can change the
world much by writing plays, but I can provide a critique of reality, this collective act of
imagining. We need a dozen Mark Twains, a score of Bierces, a hundred Menckens to do
justice to the times. Those of us involved in this critique of apparent reality cannot expect to
convince many, much less can we expect our views to prevail (the) time may be past for all
that); all we can expect is to have some fun, share some laughter, and go out with a modicum of
self-respect. We must love the truth not because it favors us but because it is the truth.
This statement was presented at the discussion ‘The Logic of the Stage’, organized in
conjunction with a production of The Bad Infinity by the Brass Tacks Theatre of Minneapolis in
May 1985.
Transquinquennal
Transquinquennal, a Brussels theatre group, have been working for more than ten years on
everyday, lively and contemporary material, in cooperation with other actors (Philippe Blasband,
Eugène Savitzkaya, Rudi Bekaert) or alone. In a group practice where each is an agent for the
work and its sense, Transquinquennal questions the ‘here and now’ of theatre, the ‘present’ of
performance and the multiplicity of its forms, through productions which are about ideas,
concepts, challenges posed for themselves and the audience:
Acting in an interactive play where each evening the actor ignores each version he interprets
(La Lettre des Chats, 1992-1993), involving an institutional theatre in putting on a show which
no one knows the intention or one single line of (Aux prises avec la vie courante, Est, 1999-
2000), convincing actors to speak for themselves (Cité-Cité, 1993-1994, Le mouvement
perpétuel, 1995-1996, Le Club 1995-1996), working with a Flemish troupe in another language
(Dito’Dito - Ja ja maar nee nee/ Ah oui ça alors là, 1997-1998, 100 ways to disappear and live
free, 1998-1999, Enfin bref/Kortom, 1999-2000, Vous Dites/U Zegt, 2000-2001), creating three
shows in three weeks (Les Clubs, 1995-1996)… just some examples of work that is searching,
questioning and stirring.
The artistic approach of the company, which uses constraints as a tool and which explores the
most diverse genres and modes of expression, attempts to go beyond conventions in order to
reinvent theatrical practices. The artistic core of Transquinquennal consists of Bernard Breuse,
Miguel Decleire, Stéphane Olivier and Pierre Sartenaer.
Latest projects: Zugzwang of and by Transquinquennal (Prix du Théâtre 2002, Best
writers/composers); Les B@lges / De B@lgen by Jean-Marie Piemme and Paul Pourveur by
Dito’Dito and Transquinquennal
Transquinquennal is a winner of the Prix Océ for Theatre Arts in 2002.
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