The journey begins: On March 27, 1962 “Theatre of Nations” season opened in Paris. The day, since, is being observed as the World Theatre Day throughout the globe. International Theatre Institute (ITI) however, initiated the move to celebrate the Day in 1961.
The cornerstone: One of the most important aspects of the celebrations of theatre on this very special day is the WTD International Message. This message is given by an eminent personality on the invitation of ITI.
The first one: The first World Theatre Day International Message was given by Jean Cocteau (France) in 1962.
The official version: “It was first in Helsinki, and then in Vienna at the 9th World Congress of the ITI in June 1961 that President Arvi Kivimaa proposed on behalf of the Finnish Centre of the International Theatre Institute that a World Theatre Day be instituted. The proposal, backed by the Scandinavian centres, was carried with acclamation,” states the website dedicated to the Day.
The Message this year: This year the Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski delivered the WTD International Message. This “message is translated into more than 20 languages, read for tens of thousands of spectators before performances in theatres throughout the world and printed in hundreds of daily newspapers,” states the website.
The International Message, 2015: “… For us who live after the end of the world. Who live in the face of crimes and conflicts that daily flare in new places faster even than the ubiquitous media can keep up (with). These fires quickly grow boring and vanish from the press reports, never to return. And we feel helpless, horrified and hemmed in. We are no longer able to build towers, and the walls we stubbornly construct do not protect us from anything—on the contrary, they themselves demand protection and care that consumes a great part of our life energy. We no longer have the strength to try and glimpse what lies beyond the gate, behind the wall. And that’s exactly why theater should exist and where it should seek its strength. To peek inside where looking is forbidden.”
To read the entire text log on to http://www.world-theatre-day.org/en/
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