South Korea, France and Elsewhere

LA DIVINA COMMEDIA: Daunted by Dante? Not likely for an artist who has already created theatre from such a hallowed source as the Book of Genesis. Italian auteur Romeo Castellucci has been touring his reaction to Dante Alighieri’s canonical tour of the afterlife, The Divine Comedy, since it premiered in July at France’s Festival d’Avignon. In his working notes, Castellucci describes his approach to the monumental text: “Read, reread, dilate, hammer at and study in depth The Divine Comedy so that it can be forgotten. Absorb it through the epidermis. Let it dry on me like a wet shirt.” The results range from herds of actors forming surreal, catastrophic tableaux, to a sterile modern kitchen in which domestic crimes fester. Though his company Societas Raffaello Sanzio is based in the small Italian town of Cesena, Castellucci’s works regularly traverse Europe and beyond. His new three-part opus is scheduled to go through hell, purgatory and paradise at a long list of venues, including the University of California–Los Angeles, in October ’09. Right now the light-drenched Paradiso, the most installation-like of the three, is on view at the inaugural art festival NOW JUMP at Nam June Paik Art Center in Seoul through Feb. 5. All three parts can also be seen in the French cities of Strasbourg and Poitiers this month and will make appearances later this year at the SPILL Festival in London, the Kunsten Festival in Belgium, the Athens Festival, the Vienna Festival, Festival Grec in Barcelona and Tokyo International Arts Festival. (Throughout 2009; info@raffaellosanzio.org; www.raffaellosanzio.org)

Tehran, Iran

FADJR INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESETIVAL: As usual, about a dozen productions—this year hailing from Canada, France, Germany, Korea, Switzerland, Poland, the U.K., Spain, the Czech Republic, Peru and the Netherlands—will compete against half a dozen Iranian shows for top honors in production, acting, directing, design and music. This is a particularly good year for those interested in theatre from Islamic countries to visit Tehran, since a separate program will feature companies from Palestine, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. A huge showcase of Iranian work has also been assembled. How does a visitor navigate the thick catalogue of more than 80 choices? With an open mind. Mohammad Atebbai, director of international affairs for the Dramatic Arts Center of Iran, says the festival staff refuses to make any recommendations, “as to have an equivalent chance for all shows to be seen.” He adds, “All the Iranian companies are encouraged to make contact with international guests and promote their productions. Fortunately, because of this policy, many shows from remote areas and young artists have been seen by our guests and invited to international festivals.” (Jan. 21–30; (98) 21-66708861; dac@neda.net)

Zanzibar, Tanzania

SAUTI ZA BUSARA: A parade featuring a brass band, drummers, wanandege (women with colorful umbrellas), dancers, stilt walkers and acrobats will wind through the market of Zanzibar’s Stone Town and lead spectators into the sixth edition of the Sauti za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom) festival of music from Swahili-speaking Africa. Admission is free until sunset to the main stage, couched inside a 300-year-old fort, where about 40 groups are scheduled to entertain the masses. While the performances are primarily musical—seasoned from year to year with dance, poetry, comedy and storytelling—a 2006 article in British magazine MOJO hints that there’s plenty of theatre in the festivalgoing experience itself: “Suddenly, we are all swept up in something so frantic it’s difficult to know whether to run or get pummeled into the sand. This is possibly the most outrageously thrilling spectacle in Africa today.” (Feb. 12–17; (255) 24-223-2423; www.busaramusic.org)

Bad Cannstatt, Germany

EUROPEAN MASK FESTIVAL 2009 “NARRENFEST”: The pre-Lenten carnival traditions of both Western and Eastern Europe have more in common than most people realize, according to the cultural organization Kübelesmarkt—for starters, beautifully crafted masks and colorful, outrageous outfits. Emphasizing those commonalities is a motive behind the convening of a European Mask Festival this month in this suburb of Stuttgart, culminating in a Saturday night marketplace display of masked traditional dances and a Sunday parade of thousands of costumed people. “The customs of the places our guests come from represent a common passion of people who do not stage their traditions but who live them,” states the festival website. Indeed, Kübelesmarkt is just one chapter of a larger Southwest German organization of carnival culture that boasts more than 50,000 members—proving that Europeans take their historic revelry quite seriously. (Jan. 23–25; (49) 711-9559110; www.narrenfest2009.de)

Vancouver, Canada

PUSh FESTIVAL: You’ve heard of many of the acts on the schedule of this high-profile, midwinter arts fest in Vancouver. American Theatre’s November cover subject, Taylor Mac, is also the face of the festival’s brochure, and American monologuist Mike Daisey returns to his epic Monopoly!. The solo performer Marie Brassard muses on The Invisible; veteran British touring artist Tim Crouch performs ENGLAND; one of Canada’s top puppeteers, Ronnie Burkett, plays to adults with his saucy Billy Twinkle, Requiem for a Golden Boy. And Chelfitsch Theatre Company of Tokyo makes this one of its stops on a seven-city North American tour of Five Days in March, organized by the Japan Society. Tim Etchells of the U.K.’s Forced Entertainment has written the script for a show called That Night Follows Day, which puts a cast of 8-to-14-year-olds in the position of lecturing adults about parenthood; that production will travel to Seattle’s On the Boards in March. But perhaps it’s the Vancouver-based companies who provide the most unexpected perspectives: Nanay, by Urban Crawl, puts the testimony of Filipino live-in domestic workers on stage. And in Skydive, by Realwheels, a paraplegic actor tumbles in freefall with the help of aerial choreographer Sven Johansson and a canny piece of technology that takes four stagehands to operate. (Jan. 20–Feb. 8; 866-608-8284; www.pushfestival.ca)

Toronto, Canada

NEXT STAGE FESTIVAL: Last year for its 20th anniversary, the Toronto Fringe Festival considered how its service to artists could be expanded beyond its summertime performance extravaganza. Part of its answer was to begin a “Next Stage Festival,” offering a more intimate and personalized experience for a small number of artists who have proved themselves on the national fringe circuit. As opposed to the summer Fringe Festival, in which some 150 companies make it through a lottery process to show their work, the Next Stage artists are handpicked (this year from more than 50 applications) for their potential to break through to a new level of artistic success. Of the eight works that kicked off the initiative last year, half were picked up for further productions by major theatres. New festival head Gideon Arthurs (whose predecessor Chuck McEwen hatched the idea) says the selection criteria is more “cream of the crop” than “best of” (audience favorites from the Fringe get their own encore series). “We look for artists who are in progress, whether or not the show is well honed,” is how he puts it. It appears to be a winning formula: Last year more than 4,500 spectators were drawn in by the promise of worthy indie art. The heated beer tent probably didn’t hurt either. (Jan. 7–18; 866-515-7799; www.fringetoronto.com)