In his message for this year’s World Theatre Day (27 March), the celebrated British actor, writer and director Simon McBurney sings the praises of ancient Athens, stressing its major contributions to the evolution of theatre, with special reference to the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus. An excerpt of his message follows:
‘The meaning of the word Drama derives from the Greek “dran” which means “to do” … and the word theatre originates from the Greek, “Theatron”, literally meaning the “seeing place”. A place not only where we look, but where we see, we get, we understand. 2400 years ago Polykleitos the younger designed the great theatre of Epidaurus. Seating up to 14,000 people the astonishing acoustics of this open-air space are miraculous. A match lit in the centre of the stage, can be heard in all 14,000 seats. As was usual for Greek theatres, when you gazed at the actors, you would also see past to the landscape beyond. This not only assembled several places at once, the community, the theatre and the natural world, but also brought together all times. As the play evoked past myths in present time, you could look over the stage to what would be your ultimate future. Nature’.
The British writer, director and co-founder of Théâtre de Complicité was chosen by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) to write a message for World Theatre Day 2018, representing Europe, one of the five regions of UNESCO (other regions include Africa, Americas, Arab Countries, and Asia – Pacific). Past message authors include Jean Cocteau, Arthur Miller, Laurence Olivier, Pablo Neruda, Eugène Ionesco, Luchino Visconti, Iakovos Kampanellis, and Dario Fo.
