THE WOLF & THE WINTER

In medieval Northern Europe January and February were savage months for those outside the sanctums of the cities. Food became scarce in the freezing birth of a new year. The wolves left the forests prowling and scavenging the villages. They became fiercer and bolder. The winter months became known as the Season of the Wolf.

Last year in ‘s-Hertogenbosch I tasted true winter, not the Nordic mountain bite or the English constant drizzle of rain, but the bleak ice wind and prime chill of an older Europe. This worked strongly on my imagination, breeding seeds of focus. When Anet van de Elzen asked me to select the theme and artists for the next performance festival, the idea had already secretly grown. Part of its nature was contrast, an opposite stance to the technical and the theatrical; the direct and simple being given dominance over operatic effect and cinematic distance.

An attempt to draw out the complexities of poetry and action, of thought and feeling through the volume and silence of presence. I have selected a group of performance artist that already mirror this in their work. They have been given the scent of our meeting together, and are turning their attention away from the forests towards you.

Brian Catling, Oxford 2000