Lea Kukovičič: FORSALE, artist talk, at Bunker Ljubljana (March 2022). Photo © Nada Žgank

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How to own (a) theatre

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Lea Kukovičič: FORSALE, artist talk, at Bunker Ljubljana (March 2022). Photo © Nada Žgank
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A standout performance at Budapest’s Sissi Autumn Dance Week gets very meta…

Sissi Autumn Dance Week, organised in Budapest by Central Europe Dance Theatre (CEDT) and hosted by Bethlen Theatre, celebrated its twelfth edition this year. Named after Hungary’s favourite queen, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the festival’s objective has shifted a few times over the years: first, its aim was simply to present the best of Hungarian contemporary dance; later the organisers favoured productions from outside Budapest. This year they decided to focus on supporting young and emerging talent (CEDT has long been known for its important work in this field), and the programme was also enriched by a selection of international shows, thanks to CEDT’s participation in the co-operation project Beyond Front@, which strives to promote the visibility, popularity and embeddedness of contemporary dance in its partner countries (Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden).

The international programme of the festival was created through an open call in the participating countries, with the addition of a work from South Korea. We don’t get to see a lot of international productions in Hungary so this was a precious opportunity, even if the selection turned out to be rather eclectic. It included a somewhat tiresome movement study presented in the form of a five-chapter dialogue between written words and dance (figures, figures by Studio Contemporary Dance Company from Croatia); an old-fashioned, folk-inspired homage to the ancestors and heritage of Slovenian choreographer Daša Grgič, danced among and with hay bales (PLENIR by The Balkan Dance Project); a gentle and lulling, but eventually underwhelming ‘movement poem’ about human connection (Some Things Touch by Lia Ujčič and András Engelmann, Slovenia); and a curious, electrifying solo on big city life by Korean artist Ha Jihye, titled The Ladybug’s Dream. But the production that I found the most intriguing wasn’t even a performance in the traditional sense of the word: it was the retelling of a performance.


Lea Kukovičič: FORSALE, artist talk, at Bunker Ljubljana (March 2022). Photo © Nada Žgank
Lea Kukovičič: FORSALE, artist talk, at Bunker Ljubljana (March 2022). Photo © Nada Žgank

The value of arts and artists has often been questioned throughout history; it happens most often and most vehemently in times of economic and political crises – in short, just like our current times. But there are other factors that make the situation more complicated than ever before: for example, NFTs (I don’t know about you, but I still can’t wrap my head around that whole concept) or artificial intelligence, just to name a few things that make our society re-evaluate creators and creation. In her artist talk/lecture performance, delivered in the foyer of Bethlen Theatre, Slovenian performer Lea Kukovičič reported on a project that put the value of theatre to very concrete test. The title of her talk is FORSALE – the same title as her conceptual work that took place in Bunker Ljubljana, in which the creators of the theatre performance Ich kann nicht anders by Slovenian collective Beton Ltd tried to auction off elements of their production. When I say ‘elements’, I don’t only mean material things like costumes, scenery or props, but also immaterial things, namely: silences, time, tableaux vivants, events, collectiveness and text. The aim of the project was not only to question the use and value of theatre performances, but also to examine ownership and authorship, and most importantly, as Kukovičič and her collaborators put it in the advertisement of the auction: “To teach neoliberalism a lesson” by trying to sell something as useless and ephemeral as a theatre piece.

‘As a theatre director, it is my job to create drama,’ says Kukovičič in an interview. And she’s really good at that: as she recalls the story of how they set up the auction house FORSALE and how they organised the auction itself – including advertisement and a posh reception with champagne – she takes us on an emotional rollercoaster. She doesn’t only tell a tale: even here, she performs. While she talks about owning theatre, she easily owns our attention – one of the foundation-stones of economy in the age of neoliberalism. There are light and funny moments, for example when she mentions how the person who bought the silences of the performance plans to release a CD of those silences; and there are serious ones, such as when she explains how selling off the piece to several owners will make it complicated – or even impossible – to show in the future. And then there’s the most dramatic moment, when she recalls how they made a mistake, and instead of nudity, they sold ‘three nude bodies’ among the costumes, which opened up unwanted and unimagined possibilities to the buyer. (Immediately, Marina Abramović’s performance Rhythm 0 pops to mind). Unfortunately, we don’t get any more reflection on that issue, it only serves as the dramatic highlight, unscrupulously used for effect. Then again, this is exactly what Kukovičič seems to want to do: to provoke and shock, and to make us reconsider our long-established belief systems.


Lea Kukovičič: FORSALE, artist talk, at Bunker Ljubljana (March 2022). Photo © Nada Žgank

I mentioned before that the auction took place in Bunker Ljubljana. But did it really take place? After all, one of Kukovičič’s first and most emphatic statements is: theatre is fiction. Does this mean that her – rather fantastical – story is fiction too? Her expert storytelling also leaves us in limbo about whether it all actually happened. A simple Google search will tell you the answer, but I won’t spoil it here, because it doesn’t really matter anyway: the idea is already out there, and while at the beginning of the 45-minute talk you might think you’re hearing of a ridiculous and absurd concept, slowly, with time, you are likely to start believing in it. That is the exact path some of the most groundbreaking ideas in the world had to walk. ●


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Bethlen Theatre, Budapest, Hungary
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www.bethlenszinhaz.hu/sot7
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