Gao Xingjian's idea of theatre: from the word to the image

257 Pages·2008·1.44 MB·English

by  Izabella Łabędzka.

Gao Xingjian’s Idea of Th eatre
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Sinica Leidensia
Edited by
Barend J. ter Haar
In co-operation with
P.K. Bol, D.R. Knechtges, E.S. Rawski, W.L. Idema,
E. Zürcher†, H.T. Zurndorfer
VOLUME 87
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Gao Xingjian’s
Idea of Th eatre
From the Word to the Image
By
Izabella Łabędzka
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2008
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Th is book is derived from research conducted as part of a three-year (2004–2007)
research project (no. 1 H01E 028 26) funded by Polish Ministry of Science and
Informatics.
Part of the fi eldwork research was funded by the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation.
Part of the project was funded by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and
Sciences—Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and
Social Sciences.
Th is book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Łabędzka, Izabella
Gao Xingjian’s idea of theatre : from the word to the image / By Izabella Łabędzka.
p. cm. — (Sinica leidensia; 87)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-16828-2 (alk. paper)
1. Gao, Xingjian—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Th eater. I. Title. II. Series.
PL2869.O128Z76 2008
895.1’252—dc22
2008019584
ISSN 0169-9563
ISBN 978 90 04 16828 2
Copyright 2008 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission
from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by
Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to
Th e Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910,
Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
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Too much analytical thinking, too much logic,
too many meanings! Life has no logic, so why
does there have to be logic to explain what it
means? Also, what is logic? I think I need to
break away from analytical thinking, this is the
cause of all my anxieties.
Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain
Que-voulez vous, Monsieur, ce sont les mots, on
n’a rien d’autre.
Samuel Beckett
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CONTENTS
Introduction ........................................................................................ 1
Chapter One Chinese Avant-Garde: New Trends in Chinese
Exploratory and Experimental Th eatre ...................................... 9
Terminology ................................................................................... 9
New Aesthetic Awareness ............................................................. 15
Dominance of the Stage Director ............................................... 20
Th eatrical Space ............................................................................. 22
Word, Text and Th eatre ................................................................ 26
Chapter Two Actor in the Space of Illusion and Anti-Illusion 31
Anti-realistic Turn ......................................................................... 31
Th eatricality Regained .................................................................. 37
Towards the Audience .................................................................. 43
Self-observation and the Neutral Actor ..................................... 60
Actor and Metadrama ................................................................... 82
Chapter Th ree New Narrative Strategies ..................................... 93
Early Attempts: From Didactic Drama to the Th eatre of
Imagination ................................................................................ 93
Further Exploration ....................................................................... 98
Inspirations by Music, Film and Painting ................................. 103
Collage Technique ......................................................................... 112
Expanding the Boundaries of Language and Literature ......... 115
Th e Author-Audience Relationship ............................................ 120
Chapter Four From Realism to Sur-Realism: Poetics of the
Absurd and the Grotesque ........................................................... 125
Chapter Five Between Life and Death, Reality and Dream:
Towards an Oneiric Imagination ................................................ 143
Th e Other Shore of Cognition .................................................... 143
Scattered Identity ........................................................................... 155
On the Boundary between Night and Day ............................... 167
Democratization of the Tragic .................................................... 173
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viii contents
Chapter Six In Search of the Total Th eatre ................................ 179
Return to Origins .......................................................................... 179
Tracing the Wild Man .................................................................. 188
Towards the Total Th eatre ............................................................ 193
Th eatre of Words—Th eatre of Images ....................................... 199
Th e Intercultural Total Th eatre ................................................... 206
Bibliography ........................................................................................ 219
Index .................................................................................................... 237
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