Willem Dafoe's tenure as the artistic director of the Venice theatre biennale has been a thrilling journey into the avant-garde and the experimental. His passion for the unconventional is evident in the diverse and captivating lineup he has curated for this year's 54th edition, titled 'Alter Native'.
One of the most striking aspects of Dafoe's program is his commitment to giving voice to the marginalized and lesser-heard stories. This is exemplified by the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement awarded to Emma Dante, a celebrated Sicilian playwright who specializes in devising work featuring outcasts and social pariahs. Her work embodies the biennale's mission statement, which is to explore encounters between cultures and the transformative power of art.
Davide Iodice's 'Promemoria' is a standout production that embodies this preoccupation with giving voice to the marginalized. The play takes audiences inside a care home for the elderly in Venice, where they interact with residents who have cognitive decline, Alzheimer's, or are no longer fully self-sufficient. The result is a poignant and tender exploration of the human condition, highlighting the beauty and resilience of humanity in the face of fragility, pain, and illness.
Another standout production is 'Cries' by Christos Stergioglou and Alex Drakos Ktistakis, which distills the voices of migrants and those enslaved or displaced across time. The play is presented mostly through song and staged by a six-piece band of performers at the open-air Teatro Verde. It comes alive in its angriest song about the experience of migrants who reluctantly flee their homes, only to be met with hostility and prejudice in the west.
Satoshi Miyagi's 'Mugen Noh Othello' is another fascinating production that gives voice to a marginalized Shakespearean character. The play reconfigures the drama to put Desdemona, the murdered wife of Othello, at its fore. Miyagi employs the ritual of Mugen-Noh theatre, which dates from the 13th century, to release the suffering character from their purgatory through the act of storytelling itself.
Dorcy Rugamba's 'Letter to the Absent' is an adaptation of his book 'Hewa Rwanda', dedicated to his family who died in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The play suggests that theatre is a medium where the dead can be reborn, and Rugamba wanted to bring back those who had died in a way that is not defined by their murderer. The play is an immersive experience that invites audiences to reflect on the impact of genocide and the importance of giving the victims their full story.
Overall, Willem Dafoe's tenure as the artistic director of the Venice theatre biennale has been a thrilling journey into the avant-garde and the experimental. His commitment to giving voice to the marginalized and lesser-heard stories is evident in the diverse and captivating lineup he has curated for this year's 54th edition. As he concludes his minimum two-year tenure, the question is whether he will sign up for another two or more to come. It seems, in light of this year's offerings, as if he is entering his stride.
