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n unexpected look at our time will notice a crisis in every art form. Every artist notices the same state of things: theatre is dead, the song is dead, words are dead, writers are alone, the audience is empty.
Knocker and Cook's essay "The Post Modern Scene - excremental culture and hyper aesthetics" talks about the mood of our time: "Words are no longer necessary; merely the seductive pose which entices the eye of the tourist. Codes are no longer required, as long as silence is eliminated. (...) We have the information and the theory. We have the experience; we don't have to wonder, we know just for the 'fun of it', we write just for the fun of it, just as we think, make love, parody and praise".
How can a work of art be placed in this state of things? Not only in the arts but in all aspects of life we have fragmentation, a trompe l'oeil culture around us, where everything is not what it seems to be. A simple reading of a text, for example, takes so long, takes too much of our time; we are all very busy, so it is easier to repeat old and outmoded codes instead of creating... not just for the fun of it.
If there is a crisis it seems to be a crisis of thought, not of learning (some philosophers had already pointed out that ). And in theatre, the crisis seems to be a crisis of creativity because there is nothing to wonder about (fear and loneliness).
It is hard to admit we still believe in old things. Old and odd things and values and codes nurturing a hope that a change might happen. The best strategy is to fit into the chaos, there's no way out.
Art no longer has an ideology, it is just for the 'fun of it'. It is better to laugh at nothing than to be astonished or overwhelmed with a play on stage. It is hard to say: what the hell am I? We wouldn't dare.
But... some artists have fearless attitudes and find a place in this contemporary chaos. Amir Haddad is one of them. His group, Tá na Rua, is celebrating 25 years in 2005. Amir is one of the best teachers an artist can have: to be near him is a lesson in art, in all senses, pleasure, consciousness and astonishment. In Amir we find an intelligent force that moves beyond the ordinary.
The Tá na Rua started as a searching experience in popular theatre without the intention to stage plays, until 1980, when they decided to start a theatre company and stage the play "Morrer pela Pátria". Important to remember that in that time Brazil was under a violent dictatorial regime (1965-1984). So the Tá na Rua staged its first play, with a strong political plot, in a moment of severe tension for artists in Brazil.
Since the professional theatre has no room for political, social and cultural discussion, the Tá na Rua aims at an expression of popular theatre: the actor approaching the audience. It is common to find the group performing in squares and streets, with colored clothes, music, in the middle of a circle of people gathered to see them, for example, performing "Dar não dói, o que dói é resistir", their most recent play which is going to be performed from August 31st to September 5th , in Paris, France and after that in Madrid, Spain.
In the circle, the performance encompasses everyone − those who pass by, and those who live on the street, the homeless, who are so prevalent in Rio de Janeiro.
This kind of collective integration is one of the proposals and intentions of their work, as they state in their artistic manifesto:
"We found an actor/actress who is not different from the people they are talking to, and with whom he/she wants to practice his/her Art. An open actor, lucid, generous in heart and able to believe in the transformative force of his/her work.An actor/actress who is nurtured by several meetings on the streets, in squares and rooms, with people as or more uncomfortable than himself/herself.An actor who is impelled by the force and energy of pleasure, fun and happiness."
Evoé Tá na Rua! Not only for the "fun of it", but for total commitment in these 25 years.
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