Rok's Depth

[I]t is heartening that theperformance brought a mass of non-theatre audience into the theatre. And quality theatre at that. Pograjc’s physical theatre is [...] as made for performing such topics. The power of the performance lies, more so than in the text and its interpretation which cannot eschew a melodramatic tinge, in the aestheticised stage movement – simulation of skiing, yoga, high bar gymnastics and particularly the perfected staging of movement under water, hanging from a climbing rope. This is not just a pose and a spectacle, but a philosophy common to physical theatre and Petrovič himself, a philosophy of physical going beyond self, search for perfection in movement to achieve a certain effect. The performance is dynamised also across multi-purpose rotating and movable circular constructions that frame the scenes or gain the associative role of the machinery of the industry of spectacle etc. The steel construction is softened by the canvass stretched over it and used to screen the animated illustrations by Meta Wraber, which to the spectator are the main poetic channel to dive into Rok’s depth.

The life of Rok Petrovič, who at the age of nineteen won the first FIS crystal globe in Yugoslavia and to this day remains the only serial winner in the history of the Slovenian male alpine skiing, is shown through a series of simple, narratively organised phases. It particularly emphasises his independence – a consequence of his personal philosophy – his striving to perfection, spiritual research, work following his own rules, experimenting with skiing techniques and modes of training – which in the machinery of the competitive greed for victory and evaluation of results alone put him in permanent conflict with his environment, into the feeling of misunderstanding and alienation. This private side of a young man who is not satisfied with the image of the system and is searching for something more in life, adds to Petrovič’s public image the understanding of his immense success, quick retreat and an early death. [...]
Pograjc tackles the available material with a clever research overlap of different approaches that merge in a complex stage structure. He builds documentary footage of skiing broadcasts into the theatre story, as well as poetic scenes of Petrovič’s diving; live performance is complemented by dynamic video images, animation and even a caricature scene of a shadow cartoon. The inner world and metaphysical endeavours are, in the scenes of yielding to sea depths, illustrated Petrovič’s poetry and music of the group Silence, contrastingly complemented with the realistic acting and cleverly conceived and demanding physical choreography (Branko Potočan) in which Primož Bezjak as Rok Petrovič is unsurpassable.