Abstract

The 'Heart of PQ' was the central thematic exhibition in the 2003 Prague Quadrennial (a four yearly international exposition on stage design and theatre architecture) that focussed on the senses-in-performance. As a site-specific installation within the Middle Hall of Prague's Industrial Palace it sought to challenge, disrupt and eliminate the borders that traditionally exist in theatre, so new relationships could be explored between the body and the built. The notion of gathering performers from a number of continents and placing them in a shared space to explore the limits of built form and their own bodies is, on one hand, a utopian idea fated to fail and, on the other hand, a dystopian experiment where failure is productive. Differing languages, cultural practices and spatial conventions lead to misinterpretations during the process and the production. Like the mythical city of Babel it proved an unsustainable dream, resulting in confusion, tension and the pervasive threat of collapse. In re-viewing this multi-cultural inter-disciplinary event, its conflicts and contradictions, the Tower of Babel becomes a valuable model in which synesthesia establishes a necessary theatrical tension. Although the design team, SCAPE @ Massey, claimed to be the provocateurs of the 'Heart of PQ', the writings of Antonin Artaud initiated and continue to haunt the project.

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Nov 17th, 12:00 AM

Re-Viewing the Heart: Making Sense of Building Babel.

The 'Heart of PQ' was the central thematic exhibition in the 2003 Prague Quadrennial (a four yearly international exposition on stage design and theatre architecture) that focussed on the senses-in-performance. As a site-specific installation within the Middle Hall of Prague's Industrial Palace it sought to challenge, disrupt and eliminate the borders that traditionally exist in theatre, so new relationships could be explored between the body and the built. The notion of gathering performers from a number of continents and placing them in a shared space to explore the limits of built form and their own bodies is, on one hand, a utopian idea fated to fail and, on the other hand, a dystopian experiment where failure is productive. Differing languages, cultural practices and spatial conventions lead to misinterpretations during the process and the production. Like the mythical city of Babel it proved an unsustainable dream, resulting in confusion, tension and the pervasive threat of collapse. In re-viewing this multi-cultural inter-disciplinary event, its conflicts and contradictions, the Tower of Babel becomes a valuable model in which synesthesia establishes a necessary theatrical tension. Although the design team, SCAPE @ Massey, claimed to be the provocateurs of the 'Heart of PQ', the writings of Antonin Artaud initiated and continue to haunt the project.

 

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