The Romanian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv, in collaboration with the Karov Theatre, invite you to the book launch in Israel of the volume "Hamlet and the Madness of the World" by Octavian Saiu, published at the Romanian Cultural Institute Publishing House in 2016.
The event, in English, will take place Friday, November 25th, at 13:00, at the Karov Theatre in Tel Aviv.
Participants:
Moderator: Nicu Nitai, actor, director and founder of the Karov Theatre
Octavian Saiu, author, university professor and theatre critic
Conclusions and Q&A
Free entrance, the number of seats is limited.
On November 26th, at 20:30, there will be a special performance of the Israeli production of the show "Richard the third will not take place" by Matei Vișniec. The show will be followed by a discussion with the public, in English, at which there will participate Octavian Saiu and Nicu Nitai.
"Richard the third will not take place", by Matei Vișniec
Saturday, 26.11.2016, at 20:30, in Hebrew
Tickets and details: 03-6885004 (Karov Theatre)
Director: Nicu Nitai
Cast: Tami Spiebeck, Shira Ferver, Moran Alon, Ofir Duan, Assaf Mor, Tsvika Dolev and Nicu Nitai
Costumes: Ahuva Erez
Artistic director: Dorit Nitai-Neeman
„Today, as the storm of King Lear abates, leaving in its wake, like a tsunami, a dehumanised world, the only play we are still able to relate to is Hamlet. Hamlet, with all the madness it contains and which remained concealed for four hundred years so that we might have the bitter satisfaction of experiencing it first-hand. Hamlet is our contemporary because he is mad. As we all are. Indeed, Hamlet has long since ceased to be the Renaissance prince contemplating his inner self. Nor is he anymore the rebellious hero struggling to save the world. He is merely the disjointed image of humanity at the insane beginning of a new millennium. It is we who are Hamlet!" (Octavian Saiu)
Octavian Saiu's passionately written, intellectually penetrating and historically informed book bases itself on three contemporary and adventurously experimental productions of Hamlet: one in New York, one in Berlin and the other in London. Sharply perceptive in its analysis of the aims and techniques of each production in relation to its cultural and philosophical moment of origin, it extends beyond description and analysis to develop into a study of not just of the theme of madness in Hamlet the character and the play, but of the madness that lies behind the willful self-destruction of many civilizing elements of modern society and its relationship to our turbulent present. It is an elegant demonstration of how fresh reflections, both practical and theoretical, on the drama of the past can help us, if not to comprehend or to defend, then at least to face up to the self-destructive madness of our time. This book should act as a powerful stimulant to both the theatre and society in our time. -Stanley Wells, CBE Honorary Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Former Director of the Shakespeare Institute, General Editor of the Oxford Edition of Shakespeare's Complete Works, Professor Emeritus- University of Birmingham
Octavian Saiu has taught theatre and dramatic literature as Associate Professor at the National University of Theatre and Film (NUTF) in Bucharest and as Guest Lecturer at the University of Otago in New Zealand. He was Visiting Fellow at the University of London, School of Advanced Study, and Visiting Professor at universities in Tokyo and Lisbon. He holds a PhD in Theatre Studies from NUTF and one in Comparative Literature from the University of Otago.
He has been actively involved in several worldwide theatre events and academic conferences in North America, Australasia and Europe, including Edinburgh International Festival, where he was Chair of the Samuel Beckett Conference in 2013. Since 2004 he has been Chair of the Conferences of Sibiu International Theatre Festival.
He is Adjunct Secretary General of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) and President of the Romanian Section - Theatre Studies of IATC. He has published articles in several international journals, as well as eight books on theatre. He received the Critics' Award in 2010 and the Award of the Union of Theatre Artists (UNITER) in 2013.
