Pandur.Theaters

{{Infobox | name = Pandur.Theaters | localname = Tomaž Pandur.Theatres, mednarodna gledališča d.o.o. | street = Tomšičeva ulica 22 | town = SI-2000 Maribor | map = | telephone = | fax = | email = | website = http://www.pandurtheaters.com | founded by = | contacts =

Pandur.Theaters is an international theatre organisation founded in 2002 by the stage director and the most successful Slovene representative of postdramatic theatre Tomaž Pandur (1963 - 2016) and dramaturg Livia Pandur. Blending various forms of artistic expression into a unique stage language, Pandur.Theaters gathers artists from different parts of the world in a multi-cultural and multilingual theatre laboratory.

WAR AND PEACE by TOMAZ PANDUR by Tomaž Pandur on YouTube

Background

Theatre director Tomaž Pandur started developing his authentic and creative approach to theatre already prior to his graduation at the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT) with his theatre productions in the frame of the Thespis' Wagon - The New Slovene Theatre. The play that turned the then-promising director into a well-known and even controversial author was the 1989 production of Scheherazade [Šeherezada], produced by Mladinsko Theatre, which received all the first prizes and a laurel wreath at the International Theatre Festival MESS in Sarajevo and was also extremely well received by the audiences, as it remained on the repertoire for over 10 seasons. From 1989 to 1996, Pandur was the Artistic Director of the Drama of the Slovene National Theatre Maribor, where he started realising his theatrical visions with plays such as Faust (1991), Hamlet (1992), Carmen (1993), The Divine Comedy (1994), Russian Mission [Ruska misija] (1995), co-produced by Steirischer Herbst, Austria, etc.

Themes, preoccupations, and approaches

From the very beginnings, Pandur's productions evince an avid interest in the capital works of world spiritual heritage, drawing on and from the greatest literary authors, literary figures, myths, narratives, and personalities. Serving as an inspiration, Pandur tackles these great themes in an entirely new way, combining literary, musical, visual, dance, and movement elements into a theatrical form of its own right. It is said that his theatre is multicultural, as it draws on Western as well as non-Western (theatre) practices, ranging from Balinese dance, Noh, Dervish dances, Commedia dell Arte, Kathakali, Butoh, Biomechanics, acrobatics, to mention but a few. In terms of genre, Pandur has directed pure dramatic theatre plays; the ballet The Wings [Krila] (2006), produced by Compania Nacional de Danza, Madrid, Spain; and two operas, however, the bulk of his productions are extremely hybrid in the sense of post-dramatic theatre. Always fluid and diffuse, his productions are characterised by an an intermedia approach in which text, printed letters, video, photography, sound, and signs comprise a separate and equally valuable instrumentarium for making theatre.

The themes that continuously preoccupy his theatrical research are the (im)possibilities of communication in human inter-relations and the particularity of the individual's experience in relation to other experiences. Pandur's theatre is an extremely erudite theatre full of luxurious visual structures and intricate constructions, abound in symbolism, mysticism, and dream-like landscapes as well as the ritualistic and the magical.

Pandur.Theaters productions

The first play to be produced by the newly established Pandur.Theaters was Dictionary of the Khazars [Hazarski besednjak] (2002) written by the Serbian novelist Milorad Pavić and co-produced by Ljubljana Festival, Ex-ponto, Atelje 212 Belgrade, and Sava Centre Belgrade. One Hundred Minutes [Sto minut] (2003), co-produced by Ljubljana Festival, was inspired by the Brothers Karamazov by F. M. Dostoevsky. A melancholic ode to the great genius Nikola Tesla Tesla Electric Company (2006) was produced in collaboration with Ulysses Theatre (Croatia), Mittelfest Festival (Italy) and featured Pandur's regular collaborators the set designers Numen and music duo Silence. Caligula [Kaligula] (2008), co-produced by Gavella Drama Theater Zagreb, City Theatre Budva, Ulysses Theatre, Croatia, Ohrid Summer Festival, Macedonia, and Mittelfest Festival, Italy, included photo materials by Aljoša Rebolj, also a regular collaborator of Pandur. Medea [Medeja] (2012), War and Peace [Vojna in mir] (2012), and Michelangelo (2013) were co-produced by the Croatian National Theatre, with War and Peace being co-produced also by the Maribor, European Capital of Culture 2012. In 2014, Pandur directed Richard III+II, a dramatic diptych with an epilogue on death, at the Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana.

Pandur also works extensively outside of Pandur.Theaters with major theatre houses across Europe, such as Teatro Español, Madrid, Spain, where he directed Hamlet (2009) and Twilight of the Gods (2011); Staatsoper Berlin, Germany, where he staged Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (2010); as well as Teatro Fernán Gómez and Centro Cultural de la Villa, Madrid, Spain; Thalia Theatre, Hamburg, Germany, etc.

Touring

Tomaž Pandur's theatre spectacles have appeared in numerous national and international theatre festivals across the globe. He regularly appears with unprecedented success at Festival Iberoamericano de Theatro, Bogota, Columbia, and Festival Mittelfest, Italy. Pandur.Theaters productions have also travelled to Spain, the Canary Islands, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Germany, Serbia, etc.

Awards

Pandur is the multiple recipient of the Borštnik Award for best direction and best performance at the Maribor Theatre Festival and the recipient of the Prešeren Foundation Award. He has also been awarded several Golden Mask Awards at the International Theatre Festival MESS in Sarajevo, where he also received the Golden Laurel Wreath for Direction. His productions have been awarded the highest prizes at festivals in Mexico, Buenos Aires, and Belgrade. In 2011, Pandur was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, one of Spain's highest decorations.

See also

• Mladinsko Theatre
• Slovene National Theatre Maribor
• Ljubljana Festival
• Ex-ponto
• Silence
• Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana

External links

• Pandur.Theaters website