 May 2001; 120pp (8 colour plates); 21.5 x 13.5 cm; paperback
£8.95
ISBN 9781902636245 |
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Black earth... the dissolving of traditions and personal experiences creating a new substance out of which new impulses can grow...
Mystery drama, first expressed on the stage in aspects of early Greek drama, is a contemporary manifestation of a movement whose roots can be found in the mystery cultures of ancient civilizations. Rudolf Steiner, who renewed the form in the early twentieth century, saw his mystery plays as extending the European tradition of realism in theatre to encompass the "realism" of experiences beyond the sense-perceptible world.
After working with Steiner's mystery dramas for some years, Christopher Marcus and the performance group Circle-X Arts felt the need to stage a contemporary work. This eventually led Marcus to attempt a modern play in the mystery tradition. The result is Black Earth, a bold and powerful drama of soul and spirit, based around themes of technology, art, destiny and metamorphosis.
First presented on the stage in 1999 by Circle-X Arts - an international group of performers, directors, writers and producers - and performed around Europe to much acclaim, Black Earth is published here for the first time.
CHRISTOPHER MARCUS trained at the Drama Centre in London and later at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, before starting his own theatre group, the Theatre of the Word, which he led for 14 years. Since 1985 he has worked as a full-time director specializing in the genre of Mystery Theatre, and has written a number of plays himself. His productions include Taniko, Gilgamesh, The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Passion of Kaspar Hauser, Hamlet, The Chymical Wedding, Mithras, The Tower and Rudolf Steiner's Mystery Dramas.
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