HUMAN AND MORE-THAN-HUMAN IN THE PERFORMING ARTS LANDSCAPE IN LATVIA

Abstract

Integrating performing arts research into the environmental humanities frame, the aim of this paper, firstly, is to uncover theoretical ideas of posthumanist thinkers about species interdependency [Tsing 2012; Haraway 2015] in context of the environmental issues and, secondly, to integrate these perspectives into practices of the ecotheatrical performances in Latvia. As it is no longer possible to separate nature from culture in a world outside humans [Haraway 2003], ecotheatre serves as a form of environmental imaginary [Woynarski 2015; May 2021] reshaping human and more-than-human relations, shifting from anthropocentric paradigm towards ecocentric worldview. Theatre of species rearranges the usual anthropocentric hierarchy and includes new actors in the theatre – non-human entities and the more-than-human world [Chaudhuri 2017]. The article provides close reading of three ecotheatrical performances, including Bee Matter (Iveta Pole, 2021), Mushroom Picking Championship (Ilze Bloka, 2021), Last Night of the Deer (Jānis Balodis, Nahuel Cano, 2022), looking how ecotheatre practitioners discursively, physically, and visually represent non-human species and their relationship with humans in the context of urgency of the environmental issues. In ecotheatrical performances, physicality as embodiment comes to the fore, alongside with invitation to the spectator not to think about but already to think with nature resonating posthumanism and postmodern shamanism ideas.