Teatro Amazonas
AzkonaToloza (Spain)
In Spanish with German surtitles
„The Amazon is burning“ is what the international media regularly print in their headlines. In fact, the Amazon with its rich resources has been systematically exploited and destroyed for over 500 years. We all feel the effects, because the rain forest is so important for our planet’s ecological balance.
The focus of TEATRO AMAZONAS is on the delusions of grandeur wihtin two over-dimensioned construction projects that are exemplary for how unscrupulous European adventurers, industrial magnates and investors violently appropriate the living space and culture of the indigenous people and try to control it. The ostentatious opera house in Manua was inaugurated in 1896 in the midst of the colonial rubber boom. As an architectural jewel, it was meant to make the city in the heart of the Amazon rain forest into one of the largest centers of western civilization. However, the project didn’t last through the numerous economic crises that have characterized Brazilian history. In 2014, in the same city, the Amazon Arena was inaugurated, a huge soccer stadium that was only used for a few weeks for the World Championships. Both buildings began to rot after their openings.
We don’t see anything spectacular on stage; everything is symbolic and simple, but captivating in its narrative and strong in its images. Political theater at its best.
The Compagnie AzkonaToloza is made up of the Spanish choreographer and dancer Laida Azkona Goñi and the Chilean sculptor Txalo Toloza-Fernández. Together, in their pieces they investigate the relationship between neocolonialism, contemporary culture and barbarism.
Credits
Director + performance Laida Azkona Goñi, Txalo Toloza-Fernández Assistant director Raquel Cors Original soundtrack Rodrigo Rammsy Sound concept Juan Cristobal Saavedra Lighting design Ana Rovira Audio-visual design MiPrimerDrop Stage set Xesca Salvà, AzkonaToloza Research Leonardo Gamboa Production design Elclimamola Styling Sara Espinosa Portuguese translation Livia Diniz Tukano translation Joao Paulo Lima Barreto Reporter Pedro Granero Illustration Jeisson Castillo Production AzkonaToloza / Helena Febres, Theatre Garonne / Fanny Ribes German translation + surtitles Miriam Denger
Production AzkonaToloza, Théâtre Garonne, AzkonaToloza is an associated company of Théâtre Garonne – Scene Européenne de Toulose Coproduction Festival Grec de Barcelona, Théâtre de la Ville – Paris / Festival d’Automne a Paris, Théâtre Garonne – scene européenne, Marche Teatro / Inteatro Festival, Antic Teatre de Barcelona Förderung DNA Creación 2019, Azala Espazioa, El Graner – Mercat de les Flors, La Caldera, Teatre L’Artesa, Teatro Gayarre, Nave, Centro de creación, Innova Cultural promovido por la Fundación Bancaria Caja Navarra, la Obra Social “la Caixa” Support Institut Ramon Llull
Main Supporters
euro-scene leipzig is institutionally supported by the City of Leipzig and the Saxon State Ministry for Higher Education, Culture and Tourism. Co-financed by tax revenue on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.