Religious Drama/Theatre

The basic question of  this paper is: How  is it possible that in Croatia after 1990 and  the  collapse of  the  communist  system, and  with more than 80 percent  of  publicly  declared  Catholics,  the  relationship  of  the  mainstream Croatian  theatrical scene  to faith  and  church  is only  negative  and  literally assaulting? Theatre artists often claim to be "above" the society and  free, responsible only for their own  inspiration.  However,  this is not true because since its  beginning  the  European  theatrical  art  has  been closely  connected to the  most divine truths  of  the  society  (its emergence  from the Dionysius rituals of antiquity and
the Mass in the Middle Ages) and  it has reflected the fundamental  values of  the  dominant  worldview.  This paper  demonstrates that connection through the history of theatre and describes the fundamental differences in the  hierarchy  of  Christian and  secularistic  worldviews, the latter becoming dominant throughout Europe (including the democratic Christian countries)  after the Second World War and  remaining in power until today (even  after  our  political system changed).  This worldview  has introduced  the criticism of society from the secularistic perspective as the only quality of valuable art, casting  out  any  affirmation  of  the  world  as a sensible  place  under  the watchful eye of God (from the canon of valuable works in the past or in the modem
creation). Such a worldview is imposed  in the art of  the  whole Europe through festivals, prizes, and  the media, creating the dominant trends. However,  the theatre that embodies  the affirmation  of  the  spiritual dimension of  human life has  been persistent  both during
communism  and  today at the margins of professional theatre and in the manifestations launched by the audience itself. The Festival of  Christian Theatres, which was launched by  the  Conventual 
Franciscans  in  Zagreb  with its 45 selected  high-quality performances  and  over  400  participants,  has  demonstrated  that  there  are many  shows on the margins,  that  the worldview  and  the  message  are  not signs of  quality, and  that  the theatre  with spiritual  tendencies  will always survive despite the pressures of the mainstrearn and  European trends.

Sažetak:
Osnovno pitanje teksta je: kako je moguće da u Hrvatskoj nakon 1990. i pada komunističkog sustava te uz više od 80 posto javno proklamiranih katolika na hrvatskim kazališnim scenama glavne struje odnos prema vjeri i crkvi isključivo negativan i doslovno napadački? Kazališni umjetnici često tvrde da su „iznad“ društva i slobodni, odgovorni samo vlastitoj inspiraciji, međutim to nije točno jer europska kazališna umjetnost od samih početaka  usko vezana uz najsvetije istine društva (njezino nastajanje iz Dionizijevog rituala u antici i mise u srednjem vijeku) i odražava temeljne vrijednosti vladajućeg svjetonazora. Tekst dokazuje tu povezanost kroz povijest kazališta  i opisuje temeljne razlike u hijerarhiji vrijednosti kršćanskog i sekularističkog svjetonazora koji je nakon II svjetskog rata zavladao u cijeloj Europi (pa i demokršćanskim zemljama) i ostao na vlasti od danas (pa i nakon naše promjene sustava). Taj svjetonazor je  uveo kritiku društva iz sekularističke perspektive kao jedinu kvalitetu vrijedne umjetnosti  izbacivši (iz kanona vrijednih djela u prošlosti ili u suvremenom stvaralaštvu) bilo kakvu afirmaciju svijeta kao smislenog mjesta pod budnim Božjim okom. Iako je to trend u cijeloj Europi nametan kroz festivale, nagrade, medije...  kazalište koje u sebi nosi afirmaciju duhovne dimenzije ljudskog života uporno postoji na rubovima profesionalnog kazališta i za vrijeme komunizma a tako i danas, kao i u manifestacijama koje pokreće sama publika. Festival kršćanskog kazališta koji su 2015. pokrenuli franjevci konventualci u Zagrebu sa svojih 45 selektiranih kvalitetnih predstava i preko 400 sudionika u četiri godine, dokazao je da predstava na  rubovima ima iznimno mnogo, da svjetonazor i poruka nisu oznaka kvalitete te da će kazalište duhovnog nagnuća uvijek preživjeti bez obzira na pritiske glavne struje i europskih trendova.

La comedia de santos es uno de los géneros más representativos del Siglo de Oro: su
composición contempla el uso y la mezcla de elementos variados, desde lo serio con lo cómico o lo sagrado con lo profano, hasta recursos de escenificación de gran espectacularidad con el trazado de tramas ingeniosas, y fue sin duda un teatro de mucho éxito en los escenarios áureos. En este texto se revisan y discuten algunos puntos de la definición genérica y se exploran los aspectos contextuales que pueden haber motivado el desarrollo y proliferación del teatro hagiográfico en el Siglo de Oro. Asimismo, se proponen algunos rumbos que puede seguir el estudio de este teatro

La reciente edición de la comedia de Lope de Vega, Barlaán y Josafat, a cargo de Daniele Crivellari, es en cierto modo tan extraña y sorprendente como la obra en sí. Se compone la edición de 111 páginas de introducción, 22 de bibliografía, se-guidas de 135 en la que se nos ofrece el texto de la comedia. Un apéndice de unas 50 páginas y otras 49 de variantes completan el volumen.

(La reseña completa se encuentra en la revista Edad de Oro, no. 40, 2021, pp. 699-702)

" Peinture … ben but as nakyd lettris to a clerk to riden the treuthe. But so ben not miraclis pleyinge that ben made more to deliten men bodily than to ben bokes to lewid men. And therfore yif they ben quike bookis,they ben quike bookis to shrewidenesse more than to godenesse. " A Treatise of Miraclis Pleyinge, ll. 373-380.

On Sunday, fourth of August 1717, a play titled “Théocharis, martyr du Japon (martyr of Japan) was performed by the students of the Jesuit college Louis le Grand, in Paris. It is a play in five acts, written, in Latin. According to the French program printed for the representation, the story takes place in 1614 Japan, during persecutions against Christianity. It tells the tale of a young nobleman, who is executed by the king of the Bungo province, and dies as a martyr.
Théocharis is a late example of the tradition of theatrical plays on Japan in French Jesuit colleges. Such plays were made from the early 17th to the mid-18th century, a timespan similar to other, and especially German-speaking, European countries. Although drawing from similar themes and sources, French plays present a few key differences with their German counterparts, starting with the almost systematic presence of ballet dances in the representations.
This contribution will first provide a chronology of the martyrs plays showcasing Japanese characters in French Jesuit colleges. It will then analyze the specificities of such plays in a broader context, as they can be seen in Théocharis, showing how and why French Jesuit theater not only actively incorporated ballet dances, but was also gradually influenced by concepts taken from French Classical Theater, such as “Bienséance.”

Kumbh Mela is a pan-Indian religious gathering. It is considered by Hindus to be the oldest religious festival known in the World History. Undoubted, it is the biggest: according to the Indian officials more than 100 million people attended the 2013 Kumbh Mela. The power this gathering to bind the pilgrims all over India in the present and through the history into a strong religious community comes from its continuity with the mythical times of the Vedas. Like then, in the illo tempore devotee’s main purpose is to acquire a strong purification of karma through bathing in the Ganges River in some auspicious days close to their living saints and in the presence of their invisible gods. Besides this, other religious activities are carried out in the presence or proximity of Holy Men, folk religious theatre performances being one of them. The paper, based on a personal research at Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in February 2013, will describe this theatre as integrated in the all day religious routine, focusing on its devotional aspects and its aim to mediate the epiphany to the audience. Second, I will recognize similarities in other two important rituals, serving food and bathing.

Problem statement: Mobile Ta’ziyeh is regarded as one of the kinds of traditional Iranian theatre in which the scenes are performed not in a permanent place, but on a certain path. The present study aims to investigate how the discourse of Ta’ziyeh is formed in connection with the displacement of spatial boundaries and how this displacement emerges as a process that turns Ta’ziyeh into a performance with transformative function. In the current article, the interaction between the discourse of Ziaber Mobile Ta’ziyeh (case study) and the discourse of the city is studied. Also, the effects of performing Ta’ziyeh on the urban areas of Ziaber are investigated semiotically.
Research objectives: The main purpose of this article is to identify the semiotic aspects of mobility in the Ta’ziyeh and its function in the transformation of urban places and spaces.
Research method: The present article has been conducted through a qualitative method based on the Paris school semiotics. The research approach is derived from post-Gremassian tradition and is the result of the transition from structuralist and classical semiotics to semiotics based on “body”, “perception” and “presence” with a phenomenological background.
Conclusion: The course of Ta’ziyeh Ziaber is formed by joining the three main locations of this city (cemetery, the main street, and house of Ayatollah Ziaberi). By examining the mobile nature of this Ta’ziyeh, it becomes clear how the mentioned places became narrative and move away from their previous functions and roles so that this cause transforms of places, spaces and also the transcendence of the city during the performance of Ta’ziyeh.

Este trabajo examina las relaciones entre el teatro castellano y el teatro portugués mediante el análisis del espacio escenográfico de la Representación a la Pasión y muerte de Nuestro Redentor de Juan del Encina, del Auto de la Pasión de Lucas Fernández y del Auto da Alma de Gil  Vicente. Para ello, se emplea una metodología ecléctica que muestre el posible uso de soportes artísticos y de elementos litúrgicos en escena. Se pretende, así, contribuir a una historia de las relaciones bilaterales del teatro de las cortes lusa y castellana en la postrimería de
la Edad Media y del primer Renacimiento.
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This paper examines the relationship between Spanish and Portuguese theatre through the analysis of the scenography in the Representación a la Pasión y muerte de Nuestro Redentor de Encina, in the Auto de la Pasión de Lucas Fernández, and in the Auto da Alma de Gil Vicente. To achieve this, it is employed an eclectic methodology to show the possible use of pictorial supports and of liturgical elements on stage. It is intended, therefore, to contribute to a history of bilateral relations between the theatre of the Portuguese and Castilian courts at the end of the Middle Ages and in the first Renaissance.

Kumbh Mela is a pan-Indian religious gathering. It is considered by Hindus to be the oldest religious festival known in the World History. Undoubted, it is the biggest: according to the Indian officials more than 100 million people attended the 2013 Kumbh Mela. The power this gathering to bind the pilgrims all over India in the present and through the history into a strong religious community comes from its continuity with the mythical times of the Vedas. Like then, in the illo tempore devotee’s main purpose is to acquire a strong purification of karma through bathing in the Ganges River in some auspicious days close to their living saints and in the presence of their invisible gods. Besides this, other religious activities are carried out in the presence or proximity of Holy Men, folk religious theatre performances being one of them. The paper, based on a personal research at Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in February 2013, will describe this theatre as integrated in the all day religious routine, focusing on its devotional aspects and its aim to mediate the epiphany to the audience. Second, I will recognize similarities in other two important rituals, serving food and bathing.

Problem statement: Mobile Ta’ziyeh is regarded as one of the kinds of traditional Iranian theatre in which the scenes are performed not in a permanent place, but on a certain path. The present study aims to investigate how the discourse of Ta’ziyeh is formed in connection with the displacement of spatial boundaries and how this displacement emerges as a process that turns Ta’ziyeh into a performance with transformative function. In the current article, the interaction between the discourse of Ziaber Mobile Ta’ziyeh (case study) and the discourse of the city is studied. Also, the effects of performing Ta’ziyeh on the urban areas of Ziaber are investigated semiotically. Research objectives: The main purpose of this article is to identify the semiotic aspects of mobility in the Ta’ziyeh and its function in the transformation of urban places and spaces. Research method: The present article has been conducted through a qualitative method based on the Paris school semiotics. The research ...