Theatre as an Avenue for Religious Experience. Still or Motionless Theatre (János Pilinszky): Toward Contemporary Mysticism
Theatre as an Avenue for Religious Experience. Still or Motionless Theatre (János Pilinszky): Toward Contemporary Mysticism

Summary/Abstract: Artistic experience can be quite similar to religious experience. Art, then, can generate religious experience just as religion or religious experience has generated so many works of art during the course of history. In order to support my argument, I use examples of theatre and theatrical experience. Artistic experience can serve as a universal bridge to connect people, while works of art can bring together diverse people from different cultures, although it would seem that any representation is linked to a specific culture from which the work of art emerged. János Pilinszky’s whole artistic oeuvre is linked to Catholic, i.e. universal tradition. In contrast to many important Eastern European writers, he is neither speaking specifically about Eastern European / Hungarian themes, nor about events linked to the specific history of a nation. Instead, Pilinszky is concerned with universal truth. Pilinszky’s term of sacred drama is drame immobile: still or motionless drama. Reading his analysis, one understands how drama / theatre can awaken the religious sense today. Certain performances make alive today, in a modern context, the forgotten mystery plays of the Middle Ages. These kinds of performances can give a hint of eternity and universal beauty, experiences that are traditionally linked with religion.

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