Back
1983 » Australia » Scénická a kostýmní tvorba národní expozice
| Curator: | Andrew Blaxland |
| Authors of Theme: | Andrew Blaxland, William Passmore |
Austrálie
1983 is an Australian Premiere year at the Prague Quadrennial. This is our first exhibit as a National Centre of OISTT. The Australian theatre is both young and vibrant. It reflects the energy of this huge continent nation, and the extraordinary variety of cultural origins of Australians — from Europe, Asia and the America. The strongest theatrical currents are felt in the major cities — most obviously Sydney and Melbourne — but also in the other State Capitals — Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart and the national capital Canberra. The last few years have seen Sydney take over from Melbourne as Australia's theatre capital. Australia has a structure of semi-subsidised principal and smaller theatre companies in each state — centred on the capitals — with some smaller provincial companies in many of the country towns. The major companies perform year round, mostly in their own home theatres, although some also present seasons in the major performing arts centres in the cities. In addition to the "drama" companies, Australia has a wide range of performing organisations in all areas of the theatre arts — the Australian Opera and the Australian Ballet are both known internationally — and there are four state opera companies and two state ballets. Australia has one established drama school — the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney — which trains actors, directors, designers and technicians, and there are now two newer schools, in Perth and Melbourne. There is also a strong network of Theatre-In-Education touring companies in the cities, and a long tradition of amateur theatre companies in cities and smaller towns. Australia's vast size makes life difficult and expensive for touring companies. This "tyrany of distance" also played a part in our preparation for Prague Quadrennial 1983. The selection of the Australian Exhibit took place in March 1983 at a specially arranged Retrospective at Sydney Opera House, called Designing Minds 3, in which works were assembled by invitation from all over the continent. The exhibited designs, by luck chance, include several theatrical forms — drama, dance and opera, several types of stage and come from several cities. We hope you enjoy our exhibition and we invite you to visit us one day and to experience our Australian Theatre yourself.
