FOR PUBLIC OR FOR AUDIENCE?

Baku hosted the 5^th International Theatre Conference. More than forty countries including the prestigious international organisations, such as the Theatre Institute, Theatre Critics Association, Association for Children and Youth, Union of Puppet Theatres, Federation of Theatre Studies, Association of Musical Theatres, etc. attended the event. Apart from foreign guests, theatrical figures of Azerbaijan also attended the conference with a number of theatrical critics, directors, representatives of administrative and management bodies of the theatres, and actors.

Art is art

The head of the Humanitarian Department of the Office of the President of Azerbaijan, Farrah Aliyeva, read out the welcome message of President Ilham Aliyev to the participants. The letter also underlined the importance and usefulness of such a creative process for Azerbaijan and the development of its theatrical business. Azerbaijan is interested to develop theatres in the country and to strengthen its position at the international level, integrating into the world cultural space as a country with strong and developed theatrical traditions.

Azerbaijani Minister of Culture, Abulfaz Garayev, addressed the conference participants and expressed his confidence that this forum would help not only to get to know the theatrical art of Azerbaijan, which has been known well in many countries of the world, but also to work out a general concept of the theatrical process in the 21^st century to strengthen the positions of theatrical art.

The theme of the conference is The Philosophy of Theatre in the 21^st Century. The concept of being. Delegates from the US, Canada, Japan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, France, Bulgaria, Slovenia, India, etc. said that the theatres were searching for a modern language to talk with the audience. The methods of this search are different, but the objective is the same - to be in constant dialogue with the audience. Each country has its own theme to set the dialogue, which depends not only on its cultural traditions, but also on how much the audience needs this dialogue in the age of developed technologies and gadgets. Recalling their practical experiences, the speakers said that the theatre of the 21^st century must be competitive. In search of expressive means and methods, the theatre often becomes a by-product of the mass culture, leaving behind its main mission, which is to be Art. How can a theatre be an Art in a market economy with its continuous struggle for the audience? How is it possible not to lose the path leading to higher artistic ideals without slipping into the abyss of the substituted ideals? What are the challenges of the 21^st century for the theatres? The philosophy of theatrical art in the 21^st century is undeniably linked to the issues of the existence of the mankind, which after several wars has repeatedly been on the brink of extinction, when the question “to be or not to be” has been a matter of choice not only for a single person, but an existential problem for the mankind. That is why we had the playwrights such as Chekhov, Sartre, Ionescu, Beckett, Arrabal, and many others. Playwrights with a pronounced voice and position were heralds of their time. They have been voicing these problems in the world culture for many years. They became the mediators and bricks upon whom the continuous dialogue between the Theatre and the Audience is set. What did change in this relationship in the 21^st century? Obviously, the globalisation process has also affected the theatrical art.

Instead of art

Many changes have taken place so far. Traditional associations with moral ideals and spiritual development of the humankind based on the narratives from the Bible, the Quran, the Torah and the Vedas have been substituted with a fashion to deny everything that was part of our "old life". Anything associated with the development of our spiritual world has been considered "old" and "uninteresting". Is this process a result of intrusion of high technologies in our daily lives? Not at all! On the contrary, the use of new technologies can and does help the Theatre, expanding its production capacities. What is the cause of the crisis then? It turned out that it is the man himself. Only a man can be both a conductor and a performer in the world where there is a powerful and synchronous effect on the minds and hearts of a multitude of people, that is the audience. Ancient Greeks, Romans, Bolsheviks understood this well and used the Theatre as an ideological leverage. A theatre was an integral part of the state structure, which had to "educate and illuminate" the audience. But everything has changed. Now the audience is increasingly called the "public". Is there a difference in terms? Yes. The audience demands; it has its own concept of art called Theatre; it is striving for intellectual development trying to expand its knowledge. The public, however, is an unpretentious, undemanding, entertainment-seeking part of humanity, which watches and consumes everything that is offered to it. It has even received a derogatory but an absolutely accurate definition related to its low intellectual and spiritual (more precisely, spiritless!) component: the plebes that lap it up. Why do we still see situations when theatres behave like a waiter frozen in a servile bow before the audience? Conclusion: it is difficult to offer what is called the True Art, if the state itself compels the theatres to switch to the commercial system of relations with the audience. This makes the theatres to master a new role, the role of a servile waiter, who gazes intently and ingratiatingly at the audience.

For example

A model of the modern theatrical business, which does not depart by a hairbreadth from its professionalism, continues to offer true art, but at the same time knows the tastes of the most demanding audience in the post-Soviet space is the Vakhtangov Theatre. Kirill Krok, the director of the theatre, and artistic director Rimas Tuminas, have managed to find that ideal model in the relationship between the theatre and the audience, which allows the theatre to remain art, uniting both the audience and the public in the theatre. This made it possible to improve the financial and economic component of the theatre, which still remains on full state subsidies. The Vakhtangov Theatre has six stages different in spectator capacity and functionality. It is in demand by the audience, and its repertoire proves that the theatre of the 21^st century has not lost its fundamental features, it's still the point of attraction, as "a theatre for people must also be a theatre about people." According to K. Krok, all their performances deal with the fate of an individual. The result of the poll conducted by the Russian Institute of Theatrical Art (GITIS) among teenagers showed that, despite all the technologies of the world, the main subject on stage and for the audience was, is and will be a human being. While there is a living interest in an individual, the Theatre will also be alive...

The forum ended quickly. Two days in Baku are definitely not enough to see the city and learn about us as people with progressive and peaceful views. But as the poet said, every departure means a new meeting. Our guests did not say goodbye to us, but simply 'see you next time in Baku'. 'But please,' they said, addressing the conference organisers and the minister, 'let's expand the scope of the conference and extend it for at least another two days. We need roundtables in addition to plenary speeches and communication in breaks. After all, there is something that we need to tell each other, and to directors, and theatre scholars, and theorists, and practitioners. Specific things. Azerbaijan is exactly the country that can help the world theatre to determine the conceptual view in the 21^st century and develop concrete positions in relation to global problems. After all, theatre is a mirror reflecting life processes in the society.