OUR STATES OF EMERGENCY: THEATRES AND PERFORMANCES OF TRAGEDY
Filipe Figueiredo apresenta uma comunicação em Manila na IFTR 2024 com o titulo:
The real on stage: the power of photography in performative practices
Abstract:
The use of photography and other optical media in stage performances has become more and more current in the last decades, nowadays almost a mandatory requisite. For tragic and traumatic events, this strategy is particularly powerful as it can bring the real world onto the stage and create an engaging dramaturgy.
The potential of optical media lies in their straight connection with the real world, which condition is fundamental for their existence, regardless of the theoretical approach used, as in the case of Roland Barthes (“that-has-been”), John Tagg (“The burden of representation”), Michael Taussig (“Contact”), and other more recent authors.
Therefore, when on stage, either in documentary theatre or other different theatrical productions, photography and its archives become an important resource to engage the audience, activate the collective memory and create empathy towards different real-world situations.
As supported by Ariella Azoullay, photography results in a tangible link that raises awareness and attention; thus, photography has been considered by several theorists and scholars as a major asset in visual activism campaigns worldwide, including theatre performances.
Moreover, photography is being read beyond its flat and bi-dimensional nature, assuming a rich and meaningful thickness involving duration and a certain kind of performativity, which Rebecca Schneider coined “photographicality”.
With this theoretical framework in mind, we want, through concrete examples, to highlight performative practices that use photography as a dramaturgical tool to recall history and traumatic events and promote consciousness and responsibility.
