All About Jewish Theatre - Between Shylock and the pivotal other

This is an overview from the European Performing Arts Forum At the Education and Culture Centre of the Jewish Museum in Prague, Maiselova 15, Prague 1 at 14-16 June 2003 .sponsored by European Association for Jewish Culture
jpr / Institute for Jewish Policy Research, London Alliance Israélite Universelle, Paris With the support of
The Rich Foundation

Lena Stanley-Clamp (London) is a founder Director of the European Association for Jewish Culture. She is also Director for Public Activities at the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR). Born in Prague, she was educated in Poland and Belgium where she graduated in history from Brussels University. Before joining JPR, she worked for the BBC's Music and Arts department. She has been a contributor to Encyclopaedia Judaica Yearbooks and to Year Book International on world Jewry, and she edited the French edition of 'Political Extremism and the Threat to Democracy in Europe' (1994). Her translation work includes a novel by a Polish modernist playwright, Ignacy Witkiewicz, 'Bungo's Decline'. She has programmed several international conferences including Planning for the Future of European Jewry, Prague 1995; Strengthening Jewish Life in Europe,at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg 1997; Jewish Culture for the 21st Century, Paris 1999; Jewish Identities in post-Communist Europe, Budapest 2000. She has convened meetings of the Performing and Visual Arts Forum in London. Her research interests at JPR focus on Jewish culture and European Jewry. e-mail : Stanley-Clamp@jpr.org.uk

This was a think tank seminar on 'Jewish Spaces in European Theatre' - the spaces being a metaphor for Jewish culture and creativity on contemporary European stages. Prague is full of more tangible Jewish spaces: as we looked down on the ancient Jewish cemetery during the breaks from our debates about the future, we were reminded of our deep roots and multi-layered European past. The timing was perfect, too: it was exciting to be in Prague to witness the referendum and the fireworks on joining the European Union. It is also worth noting that the Forum took place during the 2-week Prague Quadrennial, the 10th International Theatre Festival, featuring many events and exhibitions on the theme of 'The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Theatre'.
The Forum brought together 35 theatre practitioners: playwrights, directors, producers, composers and actors from a dozen countries, most of whom met for the first time. The format of the Forum - sessions introduced by a panel of speakers followed by open discussions - ensured that all participants contributed to the debates.

We began by exploring the wider space of Europe's multicultural landscape and asking where Jewish themes fit in and how the cultural boundaries could be transcended in the theatre. The spotlight then turned to the politics of representation: to what extent are we responsible for the impact of the images of the Jews we project? What difference do we make to the audiences' perceptions? How do we deal with the real or imagined pressures of censorship and self-censorship? How should we engage with events in Israel? What insights can we gain from the experience of the Israeli political theatre?

The discussions were fascinating because there were many different voices: from east,west, north, south and central Europe as well as from Israel and the US, participants' ages ranging from mid-twenties to sixties. While their experiences of working in the theatre varied considerably, there was a commonality of language, a shared set of references which made the two days so rewarding.

The debates ranged very widely. I would say that two visions of the Jewish future in Europe competed with each other: it was between Shylock and the 'pivotal other'. Some felt the main challenge for theatre practitioners addressing Jewish themes on European stages was to deal with prejudice and stereotyping; others - spurred on by the French historian Diana Pinto - were ready to move further by seeing the Jewish minorities with their millennial diasporic experience, no longer on the margins, but as a 'pivotal other' and a bridge to cultural minorities in Europe.

The central issues related to the politics of representation, or as one of the presenters put it : 'Does it matter whether it's good for the Jews?'. A French theatre director felt that she had to exercise self-censorship in her work and wanted to discuss 'what is good for the Jews?'. But the majority of voices from Scandinavia, Britain and East-Central Europe stressed the importance of the freedom of expression, the need to portray the Jewish experience 'warts and all' as an absolute prerequisite of artistic creativity. A Polish participant said: 'Artists constantly break taboos. Only Jews themselves could really be self-critical and deal honestly with both the positive and the negative aspects of Jewish experience. It could be dangerous to stop doing this.'

Two workshop performances shed additional light on the debates: an extract from a one-man show 'Patrilineare' by Enrico Fink (Florence) and a 'world premiere' reading of Eva Hoffman's (London) new play 'The Ceremony: Anatomy of a Massacre'.

I would add as a post-script that it became clear that the forces that drive Jewish creativity are the constant need to explore one's identity, to challenge perceptions of what being Jewish means, and to take a stand on ethical and political issues of today.

Aims and outcomes of the Forum

The two principal aims of the project were to provide a forum for debate of some critical issues for theatre practitioners who address the Jewish experience in their work and to create a network of playwrights, directors, producers and actors which would faciliate new projects and collaborations.

The consensus in the concluding session and many enthusiastic messages received subsequently confirm that the Prague Forum fulfilled a real need and that it made a lasting impact on the participants. A network of people and a community of interest have been brought into existence.

The following outcomes were proposed:

1. The publication of the Forum papers and participants' biographies on the European Association for Jewish Culture website (www.jewishcultureineurope.org)

2. The setting-up of a discussion group on the internet

3. A collaborative play exploring the artists' relationship to Israel with a number of writers contributing individual playlets.

4. A second meeting of the Forum at which works in progress will be presented and discussed.

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All About Jewish Theatre would like to thank Lena Stanley-Clamp for her kind permission to reproduce this articles (originaly published on EAJC website )based on the papers of the Conference.

Source: European Performing Arts Forum