Furia avicola

Two single-act plays exploring the end of art and the absurdity of bureaucracy, by Rafael Spregelburd

As part of the Ecole des Maîtres project, we worked with a group of actors from four European countries to create a show entitled The end of Europe, which, given the babel of languages spoken in our continent, prompted us to focus on questions of identity, belonging and on the notion of ‘the end’.  The show Furia avicola (Chicken Fury) is one of the works that sprung from this.

During the same summer, Cecilia Giménez, an  art enthusiast living in Borja, a  small town not far from Zaragoza,  took it upon herself to single-handedly restore an Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) fresco in one of  the town’s chapels. It would never have occured to the elderly ‘restorer’ that her work would  kick up such a storm in the Western art world, dividing critics and audiences alike. This minor scandal seemed to take on a life of its own once in cyberspace, unleashing more of a furore online than off, in the process striking at the very heart  of fundamental questions  concerning the purpose of this ancient and modern practice that we call "art."  It brought a government department, its employees and the entire bureaucratic apparatus under the spotlight. It was a moment of madness or perhaps lucidity, an outcry against the symbol of all symbols: money.

Is it the end of this too? The apocalypse is, it is true, an invention of power, but what will remain in our post apocalyptic world? Flocks of angry birds.

Rafael Spregelburd and  Manuela Cherubini

Furia avicola has its roots in the master class training programme of the Ecole des Maîtres, an advanced  drama course for young European artists which  culminates in the staging of a theatrical production,  on this occasion with the participation of co-producers CSS Teatro Stabile di Innovazione del FVG and  Fattore K with Manuela Cherubini, Italian translator of Rafael Spregelburd, working as co-director.

The performance consists of two single-act plays exploring the end of art and the absurdity of bureaucracy, offering a powerful reflection on the meaning and consequences of the crisis of our times. Furia avicola  explores the contemporary world in all its chaotic unpredictability, a world of mystery and entertainment in equal measure.