Fot. Otto Muehletaler
On 19 and 20 October 2013 the project Okno – Zbliżenia. Spotykanie Teatru, or Window – Getting Closer. Meetings with Theatre, held in Szczecin features Imre Thormann and OM2 theatre. The current, Meeting 3 is concerned with a deconstruction of contemporary reality and of OM2’s output. Presentations of their piece Enduring Freedom will be accompanied with meetings, discussions and film screenings.The project is a continuation of OKNO – Theatre Meetings, a festival held by Kana Theatre since 1997, which aims to present and promote varied artistic developments taking place in alternative theatre nowadays, as well as to facilitate an exchange of experiences and practices between artists and enable informal education about culture and art. With the 15th edition, the festival takes on a new format becoming a series of themed meetings held throughout the year and featuring selected artists whose work is presented in the widest spectrum possible. To date, Okno – Zbliżenia has featured Odin Theatret, Piotr Borowski’s Drama Studio, Krepsko Theatre, and ZAR Theatre. In 2013, the umbrella theme for the project is deconstruction, both as regards the form and the manner of confronting the outside world and inner reality. Meeting 1 was concerned with the deconstruction of thought (Teatr Porywacze Ciał of Poznań), while Meeting 2 focused on the deconstruction of form (Akhe Theatre of Saint-Petersburg).
OM2is a theatre company led by director Shigeo Makabe, who owns the alternative theatre based in Tokyo since 1987. Owing to their experimental and controversial works, OM2 have gained a reputation of one of the most radical fringe theatres in Japan. Their international career started after they accepted an invitation to the Singapore Art Festival in 1994. From that moment on, OM2 have taken part in a range of international events, including the Sigma Festival Bordeaux and the Cairo Experimental Theatre Festival, where they won the award for the best performance. They have also performed in Africa, Asia and America. In 2003 OM2 took part in the festival Japan Now, where their Opus No. was received enthusiastically by Polish, German and Swiss audiences.
Imre Thormannis a dancer, choreographer, director and a close collaborator of OM2. After a spell as the leader of a punk band in his young days, he spent long years studying martial arts: aikido, kung fu, tai chi, and taekwondo (Swiss championship in 1984). In 1990 Thormann qualified as a teacher of the F.M. Alexander Technique and moved to Tokyo, where he studied butoh dance under Kazuo Ohno and the art of Noguchi Taiso under Nogushi Michizo. Since 1993 he has performed on numerous occasions in Japan and Europe. In 2002 he started his own school in Tokyo and Europe. In 2001 and 2003 he organised the festival Japan Now (Switzerland, Germany, Poland), during which OM2 gave their first performance in Szczecin.
The project is supported financially by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (“Edukacja kulturalna”).
Tickets: PLN 15, 20
After the performance on 20 October a meeting will be held to discuss the artists’ working methods, including the Noguchi Taiso technique.
