ABSTRACT

A windy day in May in a small village Velo Grabje on top of the hill of the island of Hvar. A small, centuries old, chapel and a dry, dusty island’s landscape is the only mise en scene for the performance of the medieval saint play which is just about to take place in front of around 40 visitors. As the wind carries their entrance song and waves their costumes, long black and white black tunics, a group of well-coordinated men of all ages, deliver a well know story of the life and suffering of Saint Lawrence. They deftly pronounce the verses from the sixteenth century, largely incomprehensive to the contemporary ear. Yet the costumes which in a plain and accessible way distinguish the good from the evil personae (the Christians in white tunics, the pagans in black ones, obviously); the overemphasised gestures of these characters; along with the stage directions read aloud; render the plot easy to follow. The fact that for many visitors (me included), this is not the first time they witness the performance, but one in many stagings which they will have seen, only makes the apprehension of the plot easier. This is their play!

摘要

五月的一个刮风的日子，在赫瓦尔岛山顶上的一个小村庄 Velo Grabje。一个拥有数百年历史的小教堂和一个干燥、尘土飞扬的岛屿景观是唯一的场景即将在大约 40 位参观者面前上演的中世纪圣人戏剧表演。风载着他们的入场曲，吹动着他们的服装，黑白相间的黑色长袍，一群身材匀称的男女老少，讲述着圣劳伦斯的生平与苦难。他们熟练地朗读 16 世纪的诗句，而现代人的耳朵基本上无法理解这些诗句。然而，以简单易懂的方式区分善恶角色的服装（显然是白色长袍的基督徒，黑色长袍的异教徒）；这些角色过分强调的手势；连同舞台指示大声朗读；使情节易于理解。事实上，对于许多参观者（包括我）来说，这不是他们第一次观看表演，但是他们将看到的许多舞台中的一个只会使情节的理解变得更容易。这是他们的戏！