The BABEL Tablet by Ionuț CRISTACHE
That’s what they say — space in theatre is, above all, a space of human connection. It is a space of interaction, of live human relationships, “the living shared with the living,” as Peter Brook once said. It gathers diverse experiences, through emotion, through play; it is the same for all age groups.
But theatre isn’t only about life — theatre recreates possible worlds and provokes you to act, sometimes only on a level of ideas, but most often through real, concrete action. It can awaken conscience. Theatre can free you from prejudice by stirring empathy. This is the unique and often unrepeatable space of the theatrical universe. Or is it?
Let’s remember what was once said about a skillful creator of theatrical spaces: baroque, hedonistic, playful, inspired by childhood, by the simplest toys and the most innocent sensations. He stopped building walls a long time ago; instead, he became an inventor of objects that generate space — objects that interact with the actor, that join the game, that define, provoke, or help construct dramatic moments.
He creates an open, undefined space stretching to the horizon line, where no objects are visible. Its key feature is light — because theatrical space actually builds our entire life… yet we leave it all very alone, taking nothing with us.
It’s the belief of one theatre artist, but it could belong to anyone…
