Theatre Olympics

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox recurring event

|name = Theatre Olympics

|logo = To2019 logo-eng-01.png

|logo_caption =

|location = Various

|years_active = 27

|founders = Theodoros Terzopoulos

|genre = Performance festival

|frequency = Variable

|first = 1995}}

The Theatre Olympics ({{langx|el|Διεθνής Θεατρική Ολυμπιάδα}}) is a non-profit organisation that promotes theatrical exchange where dialogue between different theatremakers, irrespective of ideological, culture and language differences is encouraged. The primary output of the organisation is an international multicultural, multidisciplinary theatre festival (also called the Theatre Olympics), which aims to embrace different theatre traditions, respect diverse cultures and encourage intercultural networking among theatre artists around the world.{{Cite book|last=Jae Kyoung|first=Kim|title=International Theatre Olympics:The Artistic and Intercultural Power of Olympism|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2016|isbn=978-981-10-2573-0|pages=2}} The Theatre Olympics are held infrequently and in various locations around the globe. Each festival is organised around a broad theme.

Established in 1994 by an international committee led by Greek theatre director, Theodoros Terzopoulos, The Theatre Olympics originally had the subtitle "Crossing Millennia" to reflect the importance the organisation placed on connecting the past, present, and future of human cultural endeavours and to reflect the festival's aim to re-establish the importance of theatre in the cultural life of the twenty-first century. Despite the name, there are no competitive elements or prizes awarded at the Theatre Olympics.

The organisation's administrative headquarters are located in Athens, Greece (European office) and in Toga, Toyama, Japan (Asian office). The Theatre Olympics logo is used for every festival and was designed by the American theatre director, Robert Wilson.

The Committee

File:10. Színházi Olimpia megnyitó ünnepség.png in 2023]]

The first official meeting of the International Committee of Theatre Olympics took place on 18 June 1994 in Delphi, Greece, however discussions between the members had been ongoing since 1989.{{Cite news|last=Sulcas|first=Roslyn|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/theater/theater-olympics-st-petersburg-russia.html|title=The Theater Olympics Bring a World of Drama Together|date=3 December 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=14 February 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The founding committee was a group of eight internationally renowned theatre directors: Theodoros Terzopoulos, Nuria Espert, Antunes Filho, Tony Harrison, Yuri Lyubimov, Heiner Müller, Tadashi Suzuki and Robert Wilson. The International Committee of Theatre Olympics meets once a year. New members can join after being recommended by one of the existing members and being approved by two-thirds of the committee.

Currently the International Committee of Theatre Olympics consists of fifteen members:

Former founding members of the Theatre Olympics:

  • Yuri Lyubimov (1995–2014) (Russia)
  • Heiner Müller (1995–1995) (Germany)International Committee of the TO, Theatre Olympics: Crossing Millennia, Athens, 1994

Hosting Countries

The Theatre Olympics are held in a different country each edition. So far there have been ten festivals. The festival allows the host country to reflect their own theatre heritage and the event is reinvented each time by a new artistic director – who is usually an International Committee member of the Theatre Olympics. The festival's national organising committee usually consists of prominent representatives of the country's cultural life.

The hosting cities have been:{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatre-oly.org/en/about/|title=About|The 9th Theatre Olympics|website=www.theatre-oly.org|access-date=10 February 2020}}

class="wikitable"

! City / Country

! Year

! Theme

! Artistic Director/s

! Number of Productions

! Number of Countries

! Additional Information

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|Greece}} Delphi, Greece

| style="text-align:center" | 1995

| style="text-align:center" | Tragedy

| style="text-align:center" | Theodoros Terzopoulos

| style="text-align:center" | 9

| style="text-align:center" | 7

| style="text-align:center" | The inaugural edition was focused around Greek tragedy.

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|Japan}} Shizuoka, Japan

| style="text-align:center" | 1999

| style="text-align:center" | Creating Hope

| style="text-align:center" | Tadashi Suzuki

| style="text-align:center" | 42

| style="text-align:center" | 20

| style="text-align:center" | For the second edition, the organisers created an art village in the Japanese industrial city, Shizuoka, which was designed by the famous architect, Arata Isozaki. The Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) was opened to mark the occasion.{{cite web | title=Artist Interview: Satoshi Miyagi (Artistic Director of Shizuoka Performing Arts Center) | website=Performing Arts Network Japan | date=29 October 2012 | url=https://performingarts.jp/E/art_interview/1907/1.html | access-date=14 December 2021}}{{cite web | title=A Triumphant 'Olympics' in Japan | website=The New York Times|first=Gilles |last=Kennedy | date=16 June 1999 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/16/style/IHT-a-triumphant-olympics-in-japan.html | access-date=14 December 2021}}

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|Russia}} Moscow, Russia

| style="text-align:center" | 2001

| style="text-align:center" | Theatre for the People

| style="text-align:center" | Yuri Lyubimov

| style="text-align:center" | 97

| style="text-align:center" | 32

| style="text-align:center" | The third edition was presented alongside the Chekhov International Theatre Festival. The festival incorporated a large-scale outdoor programme, where 40 theatres from 15 countries were presented.

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|Turkey}} Istanbul, Turkey

| style="text-align:center" | 2006

| style="text-align:center" | Beyond Borders

| style="text-align:center" | Theodoros Terzopoulos and Dikmen Gürün

| style="text-align:center" | 38

| style="text-align:center" | 13

| style="text-align:center" | The fourth edition was a joint-festival with the fifteenth International Istanbul Theatre Festival (IITF).

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|South Korea}} Seoul, South Korea

| style="text-align:center" | 2010

| style="text-align:center" | Sarang: Love and Humanity

| style="text-align:center" | Choi Chyrim

| style="text-align:center" | 48

| style="text-align:center" | 13

| style="text-align:center" | The fifth edition placed an emphasis upon theatre's role in and contribution to globalisation. The festival also coincided with Seoul rebranding itself as “the city of culture and the arts".

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|China}} Beijing, China

| style="text-align:center" | 2014

| style="text-align:center" | Dream

| style="text-align:center" | Liu Lubin

| style="text-align:center" | 46

| style="text-align:center" | 22

| style="text-align:center" | The sixth edition's theme "Dream", was divided into three sub-themes: "In Memory of the Classics," "Vitality and Creativity" and "Audiovisual Feast."{{Cite web |url=http://beijing.china.org.cn/2014-09/29/content_33646073.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=21 September 2016 |archive-date=23 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923013457/http://beijing.china.org.cn/2014-09/29/content_33646073.htm |url-status=dead }}

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|Poland}} Wrocław, Poland

| style="text-align:center" | 2016

| style="text-align:center" |The World as a Place of Truth

| style="text-align:center" |Jarosław Fret

| style="text-align:center" |86

| style="text-align:center" |14

| style="text-align:center" | The seventh edition was organised by Poland's Grotowski Institute. The festival's theme is a paraphrase of the title of a speech that Jerzy Grotowski gave in 1976.{{Cite web|url=http://www.theatreolympics2016.pl/en/theatre-olympics-world-place-truth|title=The Theatre Olympics The World as a Place of Truth {{!}} Theatre Olympics 2016|website=www.theatreolympics2016.pl|access-date=10 February 2020}} The festival also coincided with Wrocław being the 2016 European Capital of Culture.

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|India}} Delhi, India

| style="text-align:center" | 2018

| style="text-align:center" | The Flag of Friendship

| style="text-align:center" | Waman Kendre

| style="text-align:center" | 465

| style="text-align:center" | 35

| style="text-align:center" | The eighth edition was held in 17 different cities around India, with the opening ceremony in New Delhi and closing ceremony in Mumbai.{{Cite web|url=http://8ththeatreolympics.nsd.gov.in/en/|title=8th Theatre Olympics 2018 in India – Official Website|website=8ththeatreolympics.nsd.gov.in|access-date=11 February 2020}}

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|Russia}} {{Flagicon|Japan}} Saint Petersburg, Russia and Toyama, Japan

| style="text-align:center" | 2019

| style="text-align:center" | Creating Bridges

| style="text-align:center" | Valery Fokin and Tadashi Suzuki

| style="text-align:center" | 50

| style="text-align:center" | 21

| style="text-align:center" | The ninth edition was the first time the Theatre Olympics was hosted in two countries.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatre-oly.org/en/|title=The 9th Theatre Olympics|website=www.theatre-oly.org|access-date=11 February 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://theatreolympics2019.com/en/olympics|title=Olympics 2019|website=theatreolympics2019.com|language=ru|access-date=11 February 2020}}

style="text-align:center" | {{Flagicon|Hungary}} Budapest, Hungary

| style="text-align:center" | 2023

| style="text-align:center" | 'O Man, strive on, strive on, have faith; and trust'

| style="text-align:center" | Vidnyánszky Attila

| style="text-align:center" | 750

| style="text-align:center" | 58 Színházi Olimpia nyitórendezvénye https://www.magyarhirlap.hu/kultura/20230415-megkezdodott-a-10-nemzetkozi-szinhazi-olimpia-nyitorendezvenye Retrieved: 2023.04.16

| style="text-align:center" | The tenth edition is focused around autonomy, liberty and helping the access to culture. https://szinhaz.org/en/10th-theatre-olympics-budapest-hungary/

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • Kim, Jae Kyoung (2016). International Theatre Olympics: The Artistic and Intercultural Power of Olympism. London: Palgrave. {{ISBN|978-981-10-9655-6}}.