Free Theatre Christchurch in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, was established in 1979, and is New Zealand’s longest running producer of avant-garde

experimental theatre Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Richard Wagner, Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu Roi, Ubu plays as a rejection of bot ...

."Brief History"
on the Free Theatre website Peter Falkenberg is the theatre's Founder and Artistic Director.

History

The Free Theatre was established by a group of students and staff from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

in 1979. Through experimentation in performance, they aimed to create a new, entertaining and vibrant theatre in Christchurch. The company's Mission Statement reads "to stage old and new rarely staged European plays in original translations, new New Zealand plays, and classical English texts in an unusual and experimental style". The name Free Theatre was chosen in homage to European predecessors Freie Bühne in Germany and

Théâtre Libre The Théâtre Libre (French for "Free Theatre") was a theatre company that operated from 1887 to 1896 in Paris, France. Origins and History Théâtre Libre was founded on 30 March 1887 by André Antoine. The primary goal of the theatre was ...

in France, groups who were striving for productions to be free from social, political and aesthetic conventions. In 1982, Free Theatre registered as an incorporated society That same year they built a 100-seat theatre in the

Christchurch Arts Centre The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora is a hub for arts, culture, education, creativity and entrepreneurship in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located in the Gothic Revival former Canterbury College (now the University of Canterbury), Christchu ...

, Christchurch, as a space for their experimentation. It was originally known as the Free Theatre and later became called the University Theatre. The Free Theatre has served as a launching pad for a number of other groups (Pacific Underground for example) and supported a number of smaller groups to present new work. In 2008, to celebrate the company's contribution to Christchurch, bringing together past and present members, the arts editor of the ''Christchurch Press'' wrote: "For quarter of a century Free Theatre has refined cultural horizons and shaped Christchurch's perceptions of contemporary theatre" In February 2011, the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

destroyed several theatre work spaces used by Free Theatre. Due to damage from the earthquake, both the University Theatre and Nibelheim have been deemed inaccessible, while Old Queens Theatre has been demolished. However the company has continued to produce a number of productions – ''

The Earthquake in Chile ''The Earthquake in Chile'' (german: Das Erdbeben in Chili) is a short story written by Heinrich von Kleist (1777–1811) and published in 1807. The story's central characters are two lovers caught up in the chaos of the 1647 Santiago earthquake in ...

'', ''Hereafter'' and ''Canterbury Tales''– Free Theatre members have also been involved in post-earthquake initiatives such as Gap Filler, Greening the Rubble and Arts Voice. In May 2014, Free Theatre in collaboration with Arts Circus signed a two-year lease for The Gym, taking up the first arts-practice tenancy in the new Arts Centre. After filming the company over several years New Zealand filmmaker '' Shirley Horrocks'' released a documentary ''Free Theatre: 37 Years'' in the 2017 New Zealand International Film Festival.

Productions

In the 1980s, Free Theatre became known for a series of productions that included: ''

Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...

'', ''

King Ubu King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

'', ''Round Dance'', ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'', ''The Joffongract'', ''1984'', ''A Ride Across Lake Constance'', ''

Cowboy Mouth Cowboy Mouth is an American band based in New Orleans, Louisiana known for fusing alternative rock with album-oriented rock, roots rock, and jam band influences. Formed in 1992, the band saw early mainstream success in the 1990s, including th ...

'', ''

The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny ''Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' (german: Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, links=no) is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed on 9 March 1930 at the ...

'' and '' Lulu''."Archive"
on the Free Theatre website The Free Theatre Group also staged a number of cabarets in the 1980s, presented in what was known as Nibelheim, the basement space below Te Puna Toi and the SoFA Gallery in the Christchurch Arts Centre. This led to complaints from Arts Centre residents, who went to court with the aim to expel Free Theatre as tenants. The case was eventually thrown out of court. In the 1990s, Free Theatre performed: ''Hamlet Machine'', '' Salome'', ''Medea Material'', ''Crusoe'', ''Murderer Hope of Woman/The Philosopher's Stone'' and ''Bakkhai/Diotek''. Over the last decade Free Theatre has performed ''Last Days of Mankind'', ''Footprints/Tapuwae'', ''Samson Airline'', ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

'', '' Philoctetes'', ''Diana Down Under'', ''Ella and Susn'', ''Faust Chroma'', ''Distraction Camp'', '' Doctor Faustus'', ''

'', ''Hereafter'', ''I Sing the Body Electric''. In 2009 Free Theatre released a feature-length film ''Remake.'' Free Theatre often performs in non-traditional theatre spaces. The 2011 production ''The Earthquake in Chile'' was performed inside and around an Anglican church. In 2012 ''Hereafter'' premiered in The Tannery, Woolston. In October 2013 as part of FESTA, Free Theatre took to the streets of Christchurch at night with the carnivalesque ''Canterbury Tales'', a collaboration with local artists, hospitality and architectural schools from Christchurch, Auckland and Sydney.

Training and education

Over the years a wide range of emerging and established artists, including poets, filmmakers, sculptors, writers, musicians, dancers and actors, have collaborated within the Free Theatre to perform in various spaces around the North and South Island of New Zealand. From the start, the emphasis of Free Theatre's work has been on non-verbal action and high production standards, discouraging the star system and encouraging long rehearsal and training periods in a company context. In most cases, Free Theatre productions are 'physical theatre' in the sense that the starting point for each actor is not psychology (as in naturalism) but the body and voice. Training is therefore ongoing, even when no project is currently in rehearsal. The exercises used in training have evolved from a diverse range of sources, including the theory and practice of

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (russian: Всеволод Эмильевич Мейерхольд, translit=Vsévolod Èmíl'evič Mejerchól'd; born german: Karl Kasimir Theodor Meyerhold; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

Jerzy Grotowski Jerzy Marian Grotowski (; 11 August 1933 – 14 January 1999) was a Polish theatre director and theorist whose innovative approaches to acting, training and theatrical production have significantly influenced theatre today. He was born in Rzesz ...

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

Richard Schechner Richard Schechner is University Professor Emeritus at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, and editor of ''TDR: The Drama Review''. Biography Richard Schechner received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1956, a ...

Augusto Boal Augusto Boal (16 March 1931 – 2 May 2009) was a Brazilian theatre practitioner, drama theorist, and political activist. He was the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, a theatrical form originally used in radical left popular education movemen ...

Eugenio Barba Eugenio Barba (born 29 October 1936) is an Italian author and theatre director based in Denmark. He is the founder of the Odin Theatre and the International School of Theatre Anthropology, both located in Holstebro, Denmark. Biography Barba was ...

and

Tadashi Suzuki is a Japanese avant-garde theatre director, writer, and philosopher. He is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), and organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival). With American director A ...

. The success of the Free Theatre in the 1980s led to the development of a dedicated drama programme at the

in 1988. In 1997, it gained department status becoming Theatre and Film Studies and was the first in the country to run a postgraduate programme in theatre and film. Recent publications by Free Theatre members on Free Theatre work include Ryan Reynolds ''Moving Targets'', Emma Johnston's ''Healing Maori Through Song and Dance'' and Marian McCurdy's ''Acting and its Refusal in Theatre and Film'' Free Theatre runs classes in Pataphysical Theatre, a physical theatre training and devising programme.

Awards and honors

Free Theatre have received the following awards and nominations:"Awards and Nominations"
on the Free Theatre website * 2012 Best Theatre (''I Sing the Body Electric''), The Press 'Best Of the Year: Theatre' * 2012 'Get to Adelaide Fringe' Award (''Hereafter''), Dunedin Fringe Festival * 2009 Nominee for The Montana Award, Most Original Production (''Faust Chroma''), Chapman Tripp NZ Theatre Awards * 2009 Award for Best Theatre (''Ella and Susn''), Dunedin Fringe Festival * 2009 Nominee for Best Production Design (''Ella and Susn''), Dunedin Fringe Festival * 2009 Award for Best Production Design (''Faust Chroma''), Wellington Fringe Festival * 2008 Award for Best Theatre (''Faust Chroma''), Dunedin Fringe Festival * 2008 Nominee for Best Production Design (''Faust Chroma''), Dunedin Fringe Festival

References

Notes

External links

''The Arts on Sunday''
feature,

Radio New Zealand National RNZ National ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Ā-Motu), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operat ...

, 18 May 2008 (audio). {{authority control Arts organizations established in 1979 Organisations based in Christchurch Tourist attractions in Christchurch Culture in Christchurch Theatre companies in New Zealand 1979 establishments in New Zealand