KOMUNA// WARSZAWA
Paradise Now? RE// MIX Living Theatre
KOMUNA/ /WARSZAWA (PL)
Première 3 November 2013, KOMUNA// WARSZAWA
Running time 1 hour. No interval.
Directed by KOMUNA// WARSZAWA
Cast KOMUNA// WARSZAWA
It has been several decades since the première of Paradise Now!. Its 1968 performance at the Festival d’Avignon sparked riots, and the photos of stark naked actors calling for an anarchist revolution (here and now!) became iconic of that decade’s rebellion. In Paradise Now? RE//MIX Living Theatre, a remix of this classic performance, Komuna// Warszawa explores what has since changed in theatre and politics. What is the truth of artistic engagement and what is just for show? Does participatory art make sense? In what ways does art fail to change the world? What is paradise – now? Are we any happier for distancing ourselves from the naïveté of hippie slogans?
Two years ago, The Living Theatre was evicted from its New York City venue. Judith Malina, its leader, died on 10 April 2015. This production marks the end of an era, but also an opportunity to reach back to that classic of political theatre.