This talk was part of the AN seminar 2021 by TEAK Helsinki on “Time temporality and Eternity in the art of theatre directing”.

In the theoretical framework I adapt the economic/design policy of planned obsolescence in the field of the political narrative represented in the contemporary performing arts. My initial curiosity came from watching recent performances which covered the issues associated with the Me Too Movement, Black/All Lives Matter Movement, Anti-immigrant movements, Anti-Lockdown protests, Climate protests and other similar political protests or social movements whose aim to influence stakeholders at different levels in changing certain policies. In the variety of performing and nonperforming formats I have noted the directing decisions which tried to merge the narrative of the piece with the current political/social movements. I will put this into perspective and try to understand the context and the consequences of these directing decisions. Question which I will address are: 1. Does mentioning certain political issues and social movements in contemporary arts has any political significance or are they just fashion? 2. What is the historical perspective when approaching these phenomena and what does the current approach provide – can Ibsen’s Nora be considered today a #metoo superwoman or has the audience just received a bad cocktail of unharmonized narratives? 3. Will the covered topics be soon obsolete and what are the mechanisms of making them last for eternity? In this presentation, my starting point is the definition of the political time as the directing decision of placing the main narrative into a certain political context. Moreover, I will follow up on the theoretical framework by including the practical examples from my completed works and present my directing decisions in setting up the political time. After the presentation there will be a time for a short discussion.

Biography

Arno Vinkovic is working as a Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms Project Manager in Brussels. He completed his MA degrees in philosophy, sociology and political sciences at the University of Zagreb, University College London and Bauhaus University. While working in numerous governmental and non-governmental international organisations he researched, edited publications, initiated and managed projects covering the topics of education, new media, creative industries, civil engagement and human rights. He founded a theatre group where he has written and directed award-winning plays that merge his artistic approach with politics, humanities and social sciences. Before becoming a Global Cultural Fellow (University of Edinburgh), he worked in numerous national and international theatre projects in Croatia and Germany. He thinks politics is the ultimate performance art.