The links between theatre and Christian liturgy, often regarded with suspicion or straight-out denied, have a complex and ancient history. Two recent publications: the post-conference volume Slowo i gest (Word and Gesture) and Aleksis Solomos’s Swiety Bachus (Saint Bacchus) reveal this wealth and encourage a re-examination of drama in liturgy and of liturgical subtexts and inspirations of at least some performance traditions. Two discussion sessions, called “The Drama of Liturgy”, will have participants attempting to re-examine these fascinating issues, drawing from Catholic and Orthodox theology and from the perspectives of theatre and performance studies. Participants will be practitioners with an extensive experience of working at the interface of theatre and liturgy. We will discuss the possibilities and consequences of historic influence of theatre on liturgy, and vice versa, and the prospects of forging creative links between the two fields.
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