The Magic Flute and L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq: A Conversation between William Kentridge and Simon McBurney

Abstract

Simon McBurney and William Kentridge studied at L'Ecole Jacques Lecoq in the early 1980s. After leaving the school, their paths diverged and both have become internationally celebrated artists. Kentridge is best known for his prints, drawings and animated films, and McBurney for his productions as Artistic Director of Complicite and as a prolific film actor. In recent years, both have arrived at directing opera and have staged international productions of 'The Magic Flute': Simon McBurney for De Nederlandse Opera (ENO) and International Festival of Lyric Art, Aix-en-Provence in 2013; and William Kentridge for the Theâtre Royal de la Monnaie (Bruxelles), Teatro di San Carlo (Napoli), Opera de Lille and Theâtre de Caen (originally in 2005). 'The Magic Flute' was the starting point for this conversation (Kentridge and McBurney 2014) between these two Lecoq-trained artists and reveals how their shared training in Paris indelibly shaped their creative processes.