84 UDK 792.02(497.4):159.933 159.933:792.02(497.4) DOI 10.51937/Amfiteater-2021-2/84-90 Članek podaja pregled uprizoritev na slovenskih odrih, v katerih so bile uporabljene vonjave kot sredstvo za stimuliranje gledalčevih čutil in vzbujanje transformacijskih učinkov. S tega vidika gledališka kultura na Slovenskem še ni bila raziskana. Avtorica pokaže, da so bile vonjave sredstvo za senzorične zaznave predvsem v eksperimentalnih gledaliških praksah že od sedemdesetih let 20. stoletja (kot enega prvih primerov izpostavi uprizoritev v režiji Tomaža Kralja Cimetova vrata ladje norcev in druge spremembe v Eksperimentalnem gledališču Glej leta 1975). Zanimanje za olfaktorne raziskave se je med gledališčniki okrepilo v devetdesetih letih 20. stoletja. Vonj je bil uporabljen kot element za uresničevanje estetike realnega v postdramskem gledališču in za vzbujanje potopitvenega učinka pri gledalcih. To vlogo imajo vonjave tudi v gledališču 21. stoletja. Poetiko vonjev je začela načrtno in kontinuirano razvijati Barbara Pia Jenič v gledališču Senzorium, ki ga je leta 2001 ustanovila skupaj z Gabrielom Hernándezom. Pri ustvarjanju senzorialnih dogodkov še danes izhaja iz metodologije Enriqueja Vargasa, s katero se je kot igralka in oblikovalka vonjev seznanila v njegovi skupini Theatro de los Sentidos, v gledališču Senzorium pa jo je avtorsko nadgrajevala. Kot oblikovalka vonjev je sodelovala tudi z drugimi slovenskimi gledališči, med drugim pri operatoriju Milka Lazarja Deseta hči (po libretu Svetlane Makarovič in v režiji Rocca) v Slovenskem narodnem gledališču Opera in balet Ljubljana leta 2015. Ključne besede: vonj, senzorialni gledališki dogodek, uprizoritvene umetnosti, Slovenija, eksperimentalno gledališče, postdramsko gledališče, gledališče Senzorium Barbara Orel je profesorica za področje dramaturgije in študijev scenskih umetnosti ter vodja raziskovalne skupine na UL AGRFT. Osrednja področja njenih raziskav so eksperimentalne gledališke prakse, avantgardna gibanja in sodobne scenske umetnosti. Napisala je knjigo Igra v igri (2003) in uredila več znanstvenih monografij, nazadnje Uprizoritvene umetnosti, migracije, politika: slovensko gledališče kot sooblikovalec medkulturnih izmenjav (2017). Sodelovala je v številnih mednarodnih raziskovalnih projektih in v delovni skupini Theatrical Event (v okviru International Federation for Theatre Research). Predavala je tudi na univerzah v tujini, med njimi na University of Warwick in University of Tartu. barbara.orel@agrft.uni-lj.si 85Svet vonjav v slovenskih uprizoritvenih umetnostih1 Barbara Orel Univerza v Ljubljani, Akademija za gledališče, radio, film in televizijo Vonj kot sredstvo za senzorične raziskave V tem prispevku se bomo posvetili tistim dogodkom v slovenskih uprizoritvenih umetnostih, ki so uporabili vonjave kot sredstvo za stimuliranje gledalčevih čutil in vzbujanje transformacijskih učinkov pri vseh udeleženih, nastopajočih in gledalcih. Tovrstne dogodke gre iskati zlasti med eksperimentalnimi gledališkimi praksami, ki so rušile četrto steno in stavile na celostno zaznavo gledalcev z vsemi petimi čuti: vid, sluh, otip, okus in voh. Osredotočili se bomo na tiste, ki prvenstveno nagovarjajo voh gledalcev. Namen prispevka je podati pregled tovrstnih dogodkov skozi čas, proučiti njihovo vlogo pri razvijanju novih uprizoritvenih jezikov in nagovorov občinstva ter opredeliti njihov pomen v zgodovini slovenskega gledališča in naši sodobnosti. Kot ugotavlja Erika Fischer-Lichte, gledališče že od naturalizma zavestno uporablja vonje z namenom, da soustvarijo kar najprepričljivejšo atmosfero dogodka (192) – tega, kar se v prostoru preliva med stvarjo in subjektom in kar gledalec med prisostvovanjem dogodku telesno začuti. Vonj je namreč »ena najmočnejših učinkovalnih komponent atmosfere« (194). Zato je toliko bolj presenetljivo, kako malo pozornosti je bilo pri ustvarjanju in tudi raziskovanju gledališča namenjene vonjavam. Pravzaprav so vonjave (kot so vonji šminke, pudra, parfuma, potu igralcev pa tudi gledalcev) vedno nehoten spremljevalni fenomen gledaliških dogodkov; gledališki prostori so vedno prežeti z njimi (192). Lahko pa so vonjave zavestno in načrtno uporabljene v samem procesu uprizarjanja. Vzrok je predvsem v tem, kot ugotavlja Fischer-Lichte, »da lahko prostori, objekti ali pa ljudje s svojim vonjem vdrejo naravnost v telo vonjajočega subjekta« (prav tam). Veliko znanja, spretnosti in izkušenj je potrebnih za uporabo vonja na gledaliških odrih. Vonj se namreč izmika nadzoru. V trenutku, ko se razširi po prostoru, ga ni več mogoče nadzirati. Svetloba in zvok, na primer, lahko v trenutku spremenita atmosfero dogajanja. Vonj je v primerjavi z drugimi sredstvi uprizarjanja tako rekoč neukrotljiv. Zato je morda najmočnejše in najgloblje sredstvo za vzpostavljanje atmosfere. 1 Članek je nastal v okviru raziskovalnega programa Gledališke in medumetnostne raziskave (P6-0376), ki ga sofinancira Javna agencija za raziskovalno dejavnostRepublike Slovenije iz državnega proračuna. 86 Natančneje povedano, vonje uporabljajo kot sredstvo za doseganje učinka pristnosti in avtentičnosti atmosfere. To je osrednje načelo pri vseh tistih oblikah uprizarjanja oziroma uprizoritvenih zvrsteh, ki jih je vodila strast do realnega, kot bi dejal Alain Badiou. Po naturalističnem gledališču (na prehodu iz 19. v 20. stoletje) so težnje po avtentičnosti postale znova aktualne v performansu v šestdesetih letih 20. stoletja, prav tako v ritualnih oblikah gledališča, gledališču skupnosti in paragledaliških praksah na pregibu umetnosti in vsakdanjega življenja. Raba vonja na slovenskih odrih Enega prvih primerov načrtne uporabe vonjav v slovenskem gledališču zasledimo v uprizoritvi Cimetova vrata ladje norcev in druge spremembe Tomaža Kralja in prijateljev2 (skupina je z uprizoritvijo gostovala leta 1975 v Eksperimentalnem gledališču Glej). Dogodek prikazuje »nekatere elementarne harmonizirajoče lastnosti veselja«, kot se izrazi Tomaž Kralj (16) in izpostavi, da konceptualno izhaja iz antičnega kitajskega besedila Knjiga sprememb (Yi jing).3 Naslov uprizoritve pojasni takole: »CIMETOVA VRATA pomenijo v človeški zavesti še ne realizirano instanco in smer k tej instanci«, »LADJA NORCEV pomeni vesoljsko ladjo planet Zemlje in njeno gibanje«, »SPREMEMBE: sprememba implicira čas« (prav tam).4 K sprožitvi sprememb je med drugim pomagalo tudi omamno vzdušje ob potresanju cimeta. Koncept uprizoritve je Tomaž Kralj objavil in tudi v shemah prikazal v reviji Tribuna: Osnovna mreža se kot e n t r o p i j a napolnjuje z materialom, ki je funkcionalno objektiviziran (Meyerhold, Brecht) in variabilen. Tako je predstava medialen zasuk od veščine k ready-made akcijam, ki jih plasira upočasnjeno in analitično ter jih v takem kontekstu prekinja (stop motion). Od ekspresivnosti se obrača k objektivnemu. Material vključuje ljudi, rekvizite, 2D kinematične informacije, s pre-tapea reproducirane zvočne informacije in glasbeno skupino, ki producira zvoke v realnem času in korespondira s časovnim zaostankom reprodukcije svojega lastnega zvoka (play-back v realnem času). Noben kanal informacije nima večje konceptualne vrednosti in obsežnejšega pomena kot katerikoli drugi kanal informacije. (16) Kritičarka Rapa Šuklje je dogodek imenovala spiritualistična seansa, »ki se izmika merilom in besednjaku gledališke kritike« in »s katerim gledalec srednjih let ne občuti 2 Tako je bila zasedba uprizoritve imenovana v najavi dogodka v časopisu Delo (20. februarja 1975). Nastopili so: Slobodan Valentinčič, Maruška Krese - Šalamun, Olga Kacjan, Maja Boh, Nomenklature, Tomaž Kralj. Kot »čarovnica z lučmi« je naveden Chris Johnson, kot »glasbeni navigator« pa Tomaž Pengov. Skupina glasbenikov je natančneje navedena v reviji Tribuna, in sicer: Tomaž Pengov – kitara, lutnja, kontrabas, piščali; Tomo Pirc – piščali, tolkala; Bogdana Herman – glas; Jerko Novak – kitara, Aco Razbornik – mešalec tona. Posnetek je arhiviran v diskoteki Radia Študent. 3 V prevodu Maje Milčinski: Yijing – Knjiga premen (Mladinska knjiga, knjižnica Kondor, Ljubljana, 2011). 4 »Shema CIMETOVIH VRAT obsega 6 unij, ki jih je diktirala Knjiga sprememb kot 6 linij heksagrama CH›IEN / kreativni. Podoba: GIBANJE NEBA JE POLNO MOČI. TAKO JE PLEMENITI MOČAN IN NEUTRUDEN. Vsaka unija ima svojo metaforično karakteristiko« (Kralj 16). Tomaž Kralj v nadaljevanju razdela značilnosti posameznih unij in razmerja med njimi. 87želje vzpostaviti dialog (vsaj ne na tej ravni)«, kot je odkrito zapisala (»Izredno puščobne norčije«). Kljub zadržanosti do uprizoritve je stvarno predstavila dogajanje. Potekalo je brez besed, poleg »zazibalne glasbe in svetlobnih efektov ter bolj ali manj improviziranih gibov« pa ga je bogatila še »uporaba nekaterih preprostih predmetov – skodel in skodelic, očal, orjaškega kajfeža, polivinilskih in papirnatih vrečic, sveč – ki so, iztrgani iz vsakdanjega konteksta, dosegli primeren učinek; zasanjano premikajoče se prižgane sveče so celo ustvarile trenutek prepotrebne magije. K omamljenosti naj bi dodale tri vrečice cimeta in obilica po odru razsutega belega prahu« (prav tam). Cimet so v nabito polni dvorani začeli sipati ob četrt na deset, spremembe pa so se končale ob pol enajstih. Vonjave so bržkone soustvarjale atmosfero tudi v drugih eksperimentalnih oblikah uprizarjanja tistega časa, najbrž že pred performansom Tomaža Kralja. Na primer v ritualnih oblikah gledališča, kot so bila t. i. srečanja v zamisli Vlada Šava. Gotovo so vonjave opravile svoje že v predstavi Pupilija, papa Pupilo pa Pupilčki leta 1969 (vonj krvi v ritualnem zakolu kokoši na odru, vonj dišav v prizoru kopanja v kadi). Vendar si njihov delež pri oblikovanju estetske podobe gledaliških dogodkov lahko le predstavljamo. Vonjave so izhajale iz izvedenih dejanj (na primer obrednega pitja čaja, prižiganja sveč, uporabe kadila in drugih pripomočkov pri izvedbah obredij). Kritiški in drugi zapisi o tovrstnih dogodkih vonjav posebej ne omenjajo. Opozoriti velja, da je kritika Rape Šuklje eno najstarejših pričevanj o estetiki uporabe vonja na slovenskih odrih. Pogostejšo rabo vonjav na gledaliških odrih zasledimo v devetdesetih letih, in sicer v postdramskih uprizoritvah, ki so uveljavljale estetiko realnega. Kot ugotavlja Hans-Thies Lehmann, je postdramsko gledališče načrtno prebijalo četrto steno z elementi realnega. V iskanju novih izraznih možnosti pristnega in avtentičnega v globaliziranem in mediatiziranem svetu so režiserji, predvsem predstavniki mlajše in srednje generacije, poskušali doseči učinke realnega tudi s pomočjo vonjav (in ne le z načinom igre, režije in rabe drugih scenskih elementov). Tako na primer: • Vito Taufer je v uprizoritvi Odisej in sin ali Svet in dom na oder Slovenskega mla- dinskega gledališča leta 1990 privedel ovna in kokoši; • Emil Hrvatin je v Banketu leta 1997 priredil gostijo za gledalce, ki so ob hrani uživali prizore skupaj z igralci; • v solzodajalski akciji Camillo – Memo je od gledalcev izvabljal spomine in solze s pomočjo čebule in njenega ostrega vonja; • Tijana Zinajić je v uprizoritvi Svinčnik piše s srcem leta 1999 v Slovenskem mla- dinskem gledališču ustvarila učinke realnega s pripravo hrane, ki so jo igralci pri- pravljali v živo pred gledalci; • prav tako Matjaž Pograjc v uprizoritvi Ljubezen na smrt (2007), ki jo je zasnoval kot večerjo, v kateri so igralci hkrati postali kuharji; 88 • Borut Bučinel je v Parfumu (po znamenitem romanu Patricka Süskinda) leta 2009 v Cankarjevem domu s prijetnimi, pa tudi skrajno neprijetnimi in zaudarjajočimi vonji stimuliral nezavedne asociacije v gledalcih. Vonj je v funkciji vdora realnega pogosto nastopal v uprizoritvah v režiji Tomija Janežiča: Ojdip (1998), Nahod Simeon (2006), Romeo in publika (2008), Opera za tri groše (2014), Smrt Ivana Iljiča (2015). V vseh navedenih uprizoritvah so vonjave – nehote ali namerno – spremljale dejanja na odru. Poetiko vonjev pa je v devetdesetih začela načrtno in kontinuirano razvijati Barbara Pia Jenič v gledališču Senzorium. Gledališče Senzorium Barbara Pia Jenič je ustanovila Senzorium leta 2001 skupaj z Gabrielom Hernándezom z namenom ustvarjati senzorialne dogodke (Jenič 8). Pri tem se opira na metode Enriqueja Vargasa, s katerimi se je seznanila med letoma 1996 in 2004, ko je z njegovo skupino Theatro de los Sentidos sodelovala kot igralka in oblikovalka vonjev. Z oblikovanjem vonjev se je prvič srečala leta 1999, ko je Theatro de los Sentidos gostoval v Zürichu. Takrat je oblikovalka vonjev Antonella Cirigliano zapustila skupino in z Vargasom sta se odločila, da njeno delo nadaljuje Barbara Pia Jenič. Tako je od leta 1999 pa do leta 2004 pri vsaki predstavi oblikovala vonje za približno 30 prizorov in 20 igralcev (saj je vsak nastopajoči lik moral imeti svoj vonj). Vonje je oblikovala za predstave Oraculos,5 La memoria del vino in Hilo de Ariadna. Barbara Pia izpostavlja: »Za vsako uprizoritev posebej sem pripravila raziskavo in koncept z razlagami, kako vonji vplivajo na publiko in na poetiko posamičnih prizorov. Nekaj odločitev sem podedovala od Ciriglianove, vendar sem pri oblikovanju vonjev hitro ubrala svojo pot« (80). Po njenem mnenju je poetika vonjev takšna uporaba vonjev, »ki ne izvira le neposredno iz akcije na odru (uporaba hrane, verskih pripomočkov, naravni vonji prostora); je tista, ki odpira nove imaginarne prostore v prizorih s pomočjo čutne sinestezije« (80). Vonji namreč »predstavljajo pomemben most med zavestjo in nezavednim ter med spominom in domišljijo« (Krkoč Lasič, »Vonj kot simfonija prizorov«), Ustvarijo atmosfero, ki jo zaznamo na intuitivni ravni, onkraj razuma, kar neposredno vpliva na naše videnje in dojemanje prizorov (Sedej, »Vonj je atomska bomba«). Poetiko vonjev je Barbara Pia Jenič nadalje razvijala v produkcijah gledališča Senzorium, poudarjeno v senzorialnih dogodkih, kot so bili Parcival in vitezi okrogle 5 Predstavo Oraculos (Preročišča) je režiser Enrique Vargas leta 1996 zasnoval za festival Exodos. Premierno je bila uprizorjena v Stari elektrarni v Ljubljani. 89mize (1998), Sprehajalec grehov (2002), Mesto tišine (2003), Biti ali imeti (2004), Odstiranja (2006), Mala tovarna upanja (2013), Povodni mož (2013), Vonjave Emone (2014), Senzorialne zvočne pokrajine (2014), Merlin (2015), pa tudi v gledaliških predstavah, ki niso senzorialne (med njimi uprizoritev poezije Gregorja Strniše Cro- Magnon – 2013, uprizoritev poezije Daneta Zajca Gotska okna – 2014, uprizoritev za otroke Merlin – 2015). Kot oblikovalka vonjev je sodelovala tudi pri uprizoritvah drugih gledališč. Najzanimivejše je nemara sodelovanje s Slovenskim narodnim gledališčem Opera in balet Ljubljana leta 2015, kjer je zasnovala vonje v operatoriju Milka Lazarja Deseta hči (po libretu Svetlane Makarovič in v režiji Rocca). To posebnost predstave so pohvalili tudi kritiki. Sklep Seznam uprizoritev, ki so uporabile vonjave kot sredstvo za stimuliranje gledalčevih čutil na slovenskih odrih, gotovo ni popoln. Njihov pregled pa vendarle pokaže, da so bile vonjave sredstvo za senzorične zaznave vsaj že v sedemdesetih letih 20. stoletja. Zanimanje za olfaktorne zaznave se je med gledališčniki okrepilo v devetdesetih letih 20. stoletja, kot element za uspešno uresničevanje estetike realnega v postdramskem gledališču in za vzbujanja potopitvenega učinka pri gledalcih. To vlogo opravljajo vonjave tudi v gledališču 21. stoletja. Pričakovati je mogoče, da bo v mediatizirani družbi in kulturi, v kateri dogodki v živo pridobivajo posebno vrednost, uporaba vonjev na gledaliških odrih narasla. 90 Literatura Fischer-Lichte, Erika. Estetika performativnega. Prev. Jaša Drnovšek, Študentska založba, 2008. (Knjižna zbirka Koda.) Jenič, Barbara Pia. Senzorialni gledališki jezik v gledališču Senzorium. Magistrsko delo, Univerza v Ljubljani, Akademija za gledališče, radio, film in televizijo, 2015. Kralj, Tomaž. »Dve predstavi.« Tribuna, 5. junij 1975, str. 16. Krkoč Lasič, Sandra. »Vonj kot simfonija prizorov.« Dnevnik, 24. junij 2013. Sedej, Ksenija. »Vonj je atomska bomba med čuti: intervju z Barbaro Pio Jenič.« Jana, 13. maj 2017. Lehmann, Hans-Thies. Postdramsko gledališče. Prev. Krištof Jacek Kozak, Maska, 2003. Šuklje, Rapa. »Izredno puščobne norčije. Ob potresanju cimeta in drugih dogodkih v gledališču Glej.« Delo, 4. februar 1975. 92 UDC 792.02(497.4):159.933 159.933:792.02(497.4) DOI 10.51937/Amfiteater-2021-2/92-98 The article provides an overview of performances on Slovenian stages that have used odour to stimulate the audience’s senses and arouse transformational effects. Representing the first research of this kind into Slovenian culture, the author demonstrates that odour was used as a means of sensory perception, especially in experimental theatre practices since the 1970s. One of the first such works was Cimetova vrata ladje norcev in druge spremembe (The Cinnamon Door of the Ship of Fools and Other Changes), a performance art piece directed by Tomaž Kralj at Glej Theatre in 1975. In the 1990s, the interest in olfactory perceptions grew among theatre-makers who successfully used odour to implement the aesthetics of the real in post-dramatic theatre and achieve the immersion of the spectator. This role of odour in theatre also continues in the 21st century. Barbara Pia Jenič began deliberately and continuously developing the poetics of scent at the Sensorium Theatre, which she founded in 2001 with Gabriel Hernandez. In her creation of sensorial events, Jenič relies on the methodologies of Enrique Vargas, with which she became acquainted as an actress and scent designer in his group Teatro de los Sentidos and creatively developed them at the Sensorium Theatre. As a scent designer, Jenič has collaborated with other Slovenian theatres, among others, on the 2015 operatorium, The Tenth Daughter (Deseta hči) by Svetlana Makarovič (based on the libretto by Milko Lazar, directed by Rocco) at the Slovenian National Theatre – Opera and Ballet Ljubljana. Keywords: odour, smell, sensorial theatre event, performing arts, Slovenia, experimental theatre, post-dramatic theatre, Sensorium Theatre Barbara Orel is a professor of performing arts and head of the research group of the UL AGRFT. Her main research areas are experimental theatre, avant-garde movements and performance across disciplines. She wrote Igra v igri (The Play Within a Play, 2003) and edited several monographs, such as Uprizoritvene umetnosti, migracije, politika: slovensko gledališče kot sooblikovalec medkulturnih izmenjav (Performing Arts, Migration, Politics: Slovenian Theatre as an Agent of Intercultural Exchange, 2017). She has participated in numerous international research projects including the Theatrical Event working group of the IFTR. She has also lectured at universities internationally (University of Warwick and the University of Tartu). 93The World of Odour in the Slovenian Performing Arts1 Barbara Orel University of Ljubljana, Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television Odour as a means for sensory research This article will focus on those events in the Slovenian performing arts that have used odour to stimulate the spectator’s senses and arouse transformational effects of all participants, the performers and the spectators. Such events can be found especially in the experimental theatre practices that tore down the fourth wall and relied on the audience’s holistic perception, which includes all five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Today, we will focus on those which primarily addressed the spectator’s sense of smell. The article aims to provide a chronological overview of such events, examine their role in developing new stage languages and audience addresses and define their significance in the history of Slovenian theatre as well as in its present. As Erika Fischer-Lichte notes, theatre has deliberately used odours since naturalism. The aim was to co-create the atmosphere of the event and make it as convincing as possible (192). The atmosphere is what flows in space between the object and the subject and what the spectator can physically experience while attending the event. Odour is namely “one of the most powerful effective components of the atmosphere” (194). For this reason, it is all the more surprising how little attention has been paid to odour in theatre-making and theatre research. In fact, odours (such as those of lipstick, powder, perfume, the sweat of the actors as well as the spectators) are always an involuntary accompanying phenomenon of theatrical events; theatre spaces are always imbued with them (192). However, odours can also be used consciously and deliberately as part of the process of performing. As Fischer-Lichte notes, the main reason is “that, with their smells, spaces, objects or people can directly penetrate the body of the smell-perceiving subject” (192). Using odours on the theatre stage takes a lot of knowledge, skill and experience. Odour escapes control. The moment it spreads around the room, it can no longer be controlled. Light and sound, for example, can instantly change the atmosphere of the event. Compared to other means 1 This article was created in the scope of the Theatre and Interart Studies research programme (P6-0376), supported by the Slovenian Research Agency with the national budget. 94 of performing, odour is more or less uncontrollable. Perhaps this quality makes it the most powerful and profound means of atmosphere creation. More precisely: odour is used as a means to achieve an effect of the authenticity of the atmosphere. As Alain Badiou would put it, authenticity is a central principle in all performing types or genres driven by a passion for the real. After naturalistic theatre (at the turn to the 20th century), the tendency towards authenticity again became relevant in the performance art of the 1960s, as well as in ritual forms of theatre, community theatre and paratheatrical practices at the crossroads between art and daily life. The use of odour on Slovenian stages One of the first examples of the deliberate use of odour in Slovenian theatre can be found in Cimetova vrata ladje norcev in druge spremembe (The Cinnamon Door of the Ship of Fools and Other Changes), a performance art work directed by Tomaž Kralj and friends2 (the work had a guest performance at Glej Theatre in 1975). The event shows “several elementary harmonising qualities of joy”, as Tomaž Kralj puts it (6), stressing that the concept is based on The Book of Changes (Yi Jing)3, an ancient Chinese text. He explains the title of the piece in the following way: “THE CINNAMON DOOR means a not yet realised instance and the direction towards this instance […] THE SHIP OF FOOLS means the spaceship of planet Earth and its movement […] CHANGES: change implies time” (Ibid.).4 Among other things, the changes were triggered by the intoxicating atmosphere created by cinnamon scattering. Tomaž Kralj published and schematically depicted the concept of the performance in Tribuna magazine: As an e n t r o p y, the basic network of this performance gets filled with materials that are functionally objectified (Meyerhold, Brecht) and variable. In this way, the performance becomes a medium shift from skill to ready-made actions presented in a slowed-down and analytical manner and interrupted in this context (stop motion). It shifts from expressiveness to the objective. The materials include people, props, 2D cinematic information, sound information reproduced from pre-tape and a music group that generates sounds in real-time and communicates with the delayed reproduction of its own 2 This is how the cast was defined in the announcement of the event in Delo newspaper (20 February 1975). The performers were: Slobodan Valentinčič, Maruška Krese-Šalamun, Olga Kacjan, Maja Boh, Nomenklature, Tomaž Kralj. Chris Johnson is stated as “witch with lights” and Tomaž Pengov as “musical navigator”. The group of the musicians is stated in more detail in Tribuna magazine, i.e., Tomaž Pengov – guitar, lute, double bass, recorders; Tomo Pirc – recorders, percussion; Bogdana Herman – voice; Jerko Novak – guitar, Aco Razbornik – sound mixer). The recording is archived in the Radio Študent audio collection. 3 Translated by Maja Milčinski: Yijing – Knjiga premen (Yijing – The Book of Changes) (Mladinska knjiga, 2011). 4 “The scheme of THE CINNAMON DOOR is comprised of 6 unions, which were dictated by the Book of Changes as the 6 lines of the CH’IEN / The Creative hexagram. Image: THE MOVEMENT OF THE SKY IS FULL OF STRENGTH. THIS MAKES THE NOBLE STRONG AND TIRELESS. Each union has its own metaphorical trait” (Kralj 16). In the continuation, Tomaž Kralj elaborates on the characteristics of the individual unions and the relations between them. 95sound (play-back in real-time). None of the information channels has greater conceptual worth and a wider significance than any other information channel (“Dve predstavi”). The critic Rapa Šuklje candidly denoted the event as a spiritualist seance “that evades the criteria and vocabulary of theatre criticism” and “does not awake in the middle- aged spectator the desire to establish a dialogue with it (at least not at this level)” (“Izredno puščobne norčije”). Despite her reserved stance towards the performance, she presented the action objectively. It took place without text, which, in addition to soothing music and lighting effects, as well as more or less improvised movement was enriched with the use of many simple objects – bowls and cups, spectacles, a giant candle snuffer, small plastic and paper bags, candles – which, taken out of their everyday context, achieved a suitable effect. [...] The lit candles even gave rise to a moment of much-needed magic. Intended to add to the intoxication were three little bags of cinnamon and an abundance of white powder scattered on the stage (Ibid.). The cinnamon scattering started in the packed hall at a quarter past nine, and the event ended at half-past ten. Odour was probably used to co-create the atmosphere in other experimental types of performing of that time, probably before Tomaž Kralj’s performance art piece. For example, in ritual forms of theatre such as the so-called meetings as conceived by Vlado Šav. Without a doubt, however, odours played their part in the performance Pupilija, Papa Pupilo and the Pupilčeks (Pupilija, Papa Pupilo pa Pupilčki) (the smell of blood in the ritual slaughter of chickens on stage, the scent of fragrances in the bathtub scene). However, the role of odour in shaping the aesthetic image of these theatre events can only be subject to speculation. The odours arose from the actions performed (for example, the tea-drinking ritual, candle lighting, incense and other props in performing rituals). Critical and other records of such events do not specifically mention odours. Notably, Rapa Šuklje’s review is one of the earliest testimonials to the aesthetics of using odour on Slovenian stages. More frequent use of odour on theatre stages can be noticed in the 1990s, namely in post-dramatic performances, which co-shaped the aesthetics of the real. As Hans-Thies Lehmann notes, postdramatic theatre deliberately broke the fourth wall with elements of the real. In search of the new expressive possibilities of the authentic in a globalised and mediatised world, the directors, especially those of the younger and middle generations, also aimed to achieve the effects of the real through odours (and not just through the types of acting, direction and use of other stage elements). For example: • Vito Taufer brought a ram and chickens to the stage of the Mladinsko Theatre in 1990 in Odysseus and Son or The World and Home (Odisej in sin ali Svet in dom); • In 1997, Emil Hrvatin’s The Banquet (Banket) threw a feast for the spectators, 96 who enjoyed the scenes with the actors while eating; • In the 1997 tear-donating session, Camillo – Memo, Emil Hrvatin evoked memories and tears from the spectators using onions and their pungent smell; • In 1999, Tijana Zinajić created the effects of the real in the performance The Pencil Writes with Its Heart (Svinčnik piše s srcem) at the Mladinsko Theatre by means of the actors preparing food in front of the audience; • The same goes for Love to Death (Ljubezen na smrt), directed by Matjaž Pograjc in 2007, conceived as a dinner in which the actors were also the cooks; • In the performance Perfume (Parfum), based on the famous novel by Patrick Süskind, which took place in 2009 at Cankarjev dom, Borut Bučinel stimulated unconscious associations in the audience using pleasant as well as highly unpleasant odours. In the function of the intrusion of the real, odour has also frequently appeared in performances directed by Tomi Janežič: King Oedipus (Ojdip, 1998), Foundling Simeon (Nahod Simeon, 2006), Romeo and Public (Romeo in publika, 2008), The Threepenny Opera (Opera za tri groša, 2014), and The Death of Ivan Ilych (Smrt Ivana Iljiča, 2015). In all of these performances, the odours – be it inadvertently or intentionally – accompanied the stage action. In the 1990s, however, the poetics of odours started being deliberately and continuously developed by Barbara Pia Jenič at the Sensorium Theatre. The Sensorium Theatre In 2001, Barbara Pia Jenič and Gabriel Hernandez founded Sensorium to create sensorial events (Jenič 8). In these activities, she relies on the methodologies of Enrique Vargas, with which she became acquainted between 1996 and 2004 when she collaborated with Vargas’s group Teatro de los Sentidos as an actress and scent designer. She first got acquainted with scent design in 1999, when Teatro de los Sentidos toured to Zurich. According to Jenič, at that point, scent designer Antonella Cirigliano had decided to leave the group; Cirigliano and Vargas agreed that Barbara Pia Jenič should take over her work. Thus, between 1999 and 2004, Jenič designed the scents for all the performances. Each consisted of about thirty scenes and twenty actors (as each character had to have their own scent). She designed the scents for the performances Oraculos (Oracles),5 La Memoria del vino and Hilo de Ariadna. “For each performance, I made a research and a concept with elaborations on how the scents affect the audience and as well as the poetics of each scene. I inherited a few decisions 5 The performance Oraculos was created by the director Enrique Vargas for the Exodos Festival in 1996. It premièred at the Old Power Station venue in Ljubljana. 97from Cirigliano but quickly started following my own way in the design” (Jenič 80). In Jenič’s view, the poetics of scents is the kind of use of smells “that comes not only directly from the action on stage (the use of food, religious props, the natural odours of a particular space) but one that opens up new imaginary spaces in the scenes through sensual synaesthesiaˮ (Ibid.). Odours, namely, “represent an important bridge between consciousness and the unconscious as well as between memory and imagination” (Jenič quoted in Krkoč Lasič, “Vonj kot simfonija prizorov”). They create an atmosphere that we perceive at an intuitive level, beyond reason, which directly affects our perception and understanding of the scenes (Sedej, “Vonj je atomska bomba med čuti”). Jenič developed the poetics of odours in the productions of Sensorium Theatre. Notably, in sensorial events, such as We Are the World: Waterman (Mi smo svet: Povodni mož) (from 2013), but also in non-sensorial theatre performances, including Cro-Magnon (the 2013 staging of Gregor Strniša’s poetry), Gothic Windows (Gotska okna) (the 2014 staging of Dane Zajc’s poetry), and Merlin (a 2015 children’s performance). As a scent designer, she has also collaborated in performances of other theatres. Perhaps the most interesting is her collaboration with the Slovenian National Theatre – Opera and Ballet Ljubljana in 2015 when she designed the scents for the operatorium, The Tenth Daughter (Deseta hči), by Milko Lazar (based on the libretto by Svetlana Makarovič and directed by Rocco). This unique aspect of the performance also won critical acclaim. Conclusion The list of performances that have used odour as a means of stimulating the spectator’s senses on Slovenian stages is by no means complete. Their examination, however, reveals that odour was used as a means of sensory perception at least as early as the 1970s. The interest in olfactory perceptions grew among the theatre-makers in the 1990s as an element used to successfully implement the aesthetics of the real in post-dramatic theatre and achieve the immersion of the spectator. This role of odour in theatre also continues in the 21st century. It can be expected that, in a mediatised society and culture where live events are increasingly valued, the use of odours on the theatre stage will also increase. Translated by Urška Zajec. 98 Literature Fischer-Lichte, Erika. Estetika performativnega. [Aesthetics of the Performative] Translation by Jaša Drnovšek. Ljubljana: Študentska založba, 2008. (Knjižna zbirka Koda). Jenič, Barbara Pia. Senzorialni gledališki jezik v gledališču Senzorium. [Sensorial Theatre Language at the Sensorium Theatre] MA thesis. 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