Tristan Tzara’s The Gas Heart was first staged in Paris , as part of the 1921 ”Dada Salon” at the Galerie Montaigne. The Gas Heart (La couer a gaz) is a ”three’act hoax” but its short enough to qualify as a one act play and it was written as a parody of classical drama. Romanian-Finnish director David Kozma brings The Gas Heart to Mad House’s Neodada Festival on Sunday 24th of April. Actors Timo Fredriksson, Alexander Komlosi, Agnes Kaszas, Maija Paunio, Petteri Pennilä and Juha Pekka Mikkola will perform the play as a drama reading version.
The Gas Heart stars a gas heart whose sole function in the play is to ”circulate widely”. The identities of the other characters are meaningless and Tzara doens’t bother with personification, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, or any other pillar of ”typical” theater.
Tzara discribes the play like that:
"This is the only and the greatest three-act hoax
of the century;
it will satisfy only industrialized imbeciles who believe
in the existence of men of genius.
The Actors are advised to give this production
the attention due a masterpiece such as Macbeth or Chanticleer,
but to treat the author ---
who is not a genius ---
with no respect and to note the levity
of the script which brings
no technical innovation to the theater."
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