April | 2014 | brenda addie

This is a belated acknowledgement of the 2014 Ibsen Award going to Peter Handke. Announced on Ibsen’s birthday, March 20, the award blurb mentions that Handke could be regarded as the antithesis of Ibsen. However, it further suggests that there is a literary similarity in that both playwrights are sensors of the fabric of society. http://www.internationalibsenaward.com/winners/peter-handke/

In his video acceptance of the award, Handke illustrates this sensory perception by wondering why Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize… http://vimeo.com/89543851

Personally, my life has been greatly enriched by both playwrights – and while their expression of the form couldn’t be greater, they both have at their writerly fingertips that special magic that touches humanity.

Currently I’m investigating a visit to Oslo in August-September for the International Ibsen Festival. Are there any Ibsen lovers who might care to join me?

On 27 March the International Theatre Institute (ITI) – the world organisation for performing arts, once again celebrated World Theatre Day.

Please visit http://www.world-theatre-day.org/ for a video recording of the oration made by South African playwright Brett Bailey. It is available in 15 languages and truly expresses the theatre impulse from time immemorial and the wondrous opportunities for theatre in the 21st century global village.

http://www.world-theatre-day.org/en/authors.html provides a list of the orators and their speeches from the inception of the celebration in 1962 when Jean Cocteau was the presenter. The list is an impressive assemblage of people who have contributed to world theatre. On World Theatre Day, 2010, Judi Dench suggested ‘in many ways every day should be considered a theatre day, as we have a responsibility to continue the tradition to entertain, to educate and to enlighten our audiences, without whom we couldn’t exist.’

May every day be a theatre day for you.