The power of theatrical madness

The power of theatrical madness

In 2012 it will be thirty years since the theatre-maker and artist Jan Fabre made his quite remarkable entrance into Flemish theatre history with his eight-hour show This is theatre like it was to be expected and foreseen. Two years later he conquered international stages with The power of theatrical madness. To celebrate this anniversary there will be a rerun of both productions with a completely new cast.

Even more than in This is theatre like it was to be expected and foreseen, in The power of theatrical madness Jan Fabre questions the medium of theatre (and also opera and dance). At the same time he links the theatre of that time (1984) – and especially his own theatre work – with the theatrical heritage, tradition and the canon of art history.

Once again the performance is divided into several scenes or acts. Hans Christian Andersen’s story of the Emperor's new clothes is one of the threads that connects the scenes. Appearance, the emperor’s pretence, is a metaphor for the illusion, the lie of theatre. Indeed, Fabre chose to stage this performance in the red plush and tinsel of the great conventional theatres to make the contrast between the hypocrisy and frivolity of this setting and the authenticity and the discipline of the performers on stage as great as possible. As an artist, Fabre was only too well aware of the pressures of 'the market' on his art and the danger of his work being ‘claimed’. Once again the question arises of how the present time will transform or colour our perception of this performance. A time in which ‘the market’ determines each and every aspect of our lives.