Sitting in a park, one may observe—the trees, the birds, the people passing by. As one continues to observe, the details sharpen, and the park becomes more alive. The trees become living scenery, the sounds of birds become a song, and the passers-by reveal themselves to be characters with stories to tell.
Busker’s Dream: A Poem for a Park is a site-specific theatrical event that transposes everyday interactions into theater. The show begins with a guided walk, during which a host warms up the audience’s sense of observation and wonder. When the audience arrives at the park, they are invited to sit and observe. Soon, a variety of characters are passing through the park, all going about their daily lives. Then someone different appears—an old woman, with a cane and a mysterious suitcase. She approaches the audience, acknowledges their presence, and then transforms the park into a stage, on which the untold stories of these characters will be played out in the style of a street variety show.
Street shows propose a kind of artistic magic, which is that any public space can spontaneously turn into a theater, where the public can gather to collectively experience creative expression. Masks propose a certain kind of magic as well, one that lives in the land of archetypes and projections. Busker’s Dream combines these proposals into an homage to a public space, and to the people like you, that pass through it.
Directed by Justin Durel and Alenka Marinič
Masks: Justin Durel
Costume design and scenography: Katarina Zalar
Players: Anja Bezlova, Luka Piletič, Andrej Tomše, Manca Uršič
Photo: Špela Škulj, Luka Dakskobler
Production: Globus Hystericus
Co-production: KDPM and Zavod Bufeto
Technical support: Borut Cajnko, Goran Završnik
The project was supported by the City of Ljubljana, Department of Culture, and the Ministry of Culture, Slovenia.
