The Sziget Festival 2008 - So Much More Than Music

Sziget Theatre Festival

"The sub-festival offers a big handful of performances. Beside the quality performances of contemporary theatre, dance and performance arts, a bunch of talented newcomers are granted the chance of debut performances. 

Thirty-five Hungarian and international works are to be staged in five days altogether at five locations: Open Air Stage, Tent, On the Grass, Performance Stage, TÁP Theatre-tent.

Renewing an old tradition, TÁP Theatre presents 'One Minute Theatre' at Sziget. The exclusive performance presents a one-minute long play to each member of the audience individually. Every afternoon.

The Sziget Theatre and Dance Acts Open Air Stage – beside a number of other attractions – presents Danza Contemporánea de Cuba (founded in 1959), Stockholm 59° North ( formed by the solo-dancers of Royal Swedish Ballet), Félix Lajkó and Antal Brasnyó. The closing day features performance titled ’deGENERATION’ directed by one of the most promising new choreographers (who was born in Jerusalem) Hofesh Schechter. 

The Tent will host a choreography by Jordi Cortés and Damián Munoz based Sádor Márai’s famous novel ’Embers’ as well as the premiére of the play ’Stone Answer’ by the ten years old Baltazár Theatre, not to mention the theatrical mock-documentary ’Dutch Tsunami (Drowning In Europe)’ by Space Theatre. On the night of young Hungarian and international artists the audience will be presented Belgium-based Alexandr Zivkov’s solo, the performance by Tunisian Bahri Ben Yahmed, and Eléonore Valére’s choreography performed by Budapest Dance School.

The Grass-location presents two unique performances by Georg Traber from Switzerland: a space-specific installation performance titled ’Heinz Baut’ and the circus-adaptation of an old tradition ’Hikohki Gumo’. The long-standing, almost traditional performance by the Movement Department of the University of Theatre and Film Arts will also feature. The dramatic and fascinating ’Chaser’ by Motionhouse (UK) will be presented twice.

It has become a tradition at Sziget by now to stage grandiose street-theatre performances defying the shackles of time and space. This year it’s Italy’s KITONB’ ’Carillon, a time travel’. The scene is set between earth and sky. This grand performance came to life as the brainchild of art director Angelo Bonello.

National Vietnamese Water Puppet Show follows North-Vietnamese traditions by staging the play titled ’The Spirit of the Village’. This performance is part of the world-heritage with its intense colours and very special design. An outstanding cultural event.

Travelling Fun Fair offers a bunch of puppetry and street-theatre acts, a number of games, unique attractions and music-specialities on each day of the festival.

Museum Festival

2008 is the first year that Sziget hosts Museum Quarter within the Octopus Multi-Art Area. Museums await Sziget-goers with outdoor installations and reduced entrance-fees, plus the involved museums can also be visited at a preferential price in the whole month of August with Sziget-wristbands on! Műcsarnok is also involved!

Multi-Arts Festival

Under the organization of Medence Group, Octopus Multi-Arts Area has been operating for six years now at Sziget, providing a home for literary, fine arts and classical music programmes. Take the Singing Giant Sculpture for instance: the gigantic Venus of Willendorf built up in the center of Octopus will „speak up” five times a day. Five women at different ages will sing to us about the way they percieve their own age and the passing of time in five songs of distinct atmosphere.

Recycling is much more than a trendy topic for us here at Sziget: under the guidance of activists and artists art-workshops are to be established in which Sziget-people can create objects and works of art out of material regarded as rubbish, or at least used objects. An exhibition is to be displayed in the big tent of the recycled objects. Octopus will host a photo-exhibition by Islam-convert, internationally acknowledged photographer Peter Sanders. His photos present the crucial role of Muslim communities within the English society and the colourful social life of today’s Great-Britain.

Classical Music

The place where it’s not only the living legends of rock are present but also the dead giants of classical music. Baroque music at nights will offer you a perfect recreation laid back on the most comfortable sofas after the all-day long bustle of the festival. You can also browse the overwhelming classical arsenal of the Jukebox at daytime. Capriccio Chamber Orchestra await you in the evenings, while the Music Academy students show their „baby-claws” in the afternoons.

Literary Programmes

Bilingual outreadings and talk-show evenings will present works of prestigious Hungarian and international authors in Hungarian, German and English. Ádám Nádasdy, László Márton and György Dragomán will be supported by Scotchman Christopher Whyte and German literateurs Wilhelm Droste and Hans-Henning Paetzke. The reading sessions will be accompanied with relaxing live-music. Our Hungarian-Spanish programme framed up by Casi Flamenco features poems in both languages and is accompanied by classic flamenco performed by professional dancers and musicians.

In the foreground of the tent Anagram Factory will operate this time again, offering multilingual versions mixed and cooked from the letters of the clients’ names.

Architects of Air presents: Amococo – Luminaire

It will be the seventh time that Luminaire from UK is present at Sziget. A deep dive into a colourful world of dreams. A sculpture, and the sculptor is an architect while the painter is none other than the Sun."

Source: Sziget.hu