Lockdown reading from TPT’s pop-up library

17 May 2020

The Conversation

Bookplates

Like the theatre, the written word has been a powerful catalyst for change since Johannes Gutenberg set up his first printing press in the 15th century. This technology gave authors the means to bring arguments to the masses, and facilitated the transfer of ideas across space and time. Indeed, books are a form of conversation – between writer and reader, and among readers.

We launched The Performance Theatre’s pop-up library at TPT 2018, inviting members of our community to share book recommendations related to our programme theme. Captured on bookplates tucked into recommended volumes, these recommendations have sparked conversations both in the moment and months afterwards.

From TPT's 2019 pop-up library in Seattle

If you are using this period of lockdown to make a dent in your reading list, we have selected a few titles from The Performance Theatre Pop-Up Library that might inspire you. Originally recommended in relation to our 2018 or 2019 themes (Unfinished Revolutions  and Higher Resolutions), they offer perspectives on inner journeys and outer journeys – the kind of travel we can enjoy without leaving our homes.

Travel is a mindset that can be applied to the most mundane explorations. “I think this may hold the key to a very interesting TPT approach – harvesting a mass moment of mindfulness.” – Rick Haythornthwaite, chairman, Mastercard and chairman, Xynteo

Sometimes you travel farthest by remaining where you are. “Anna Akhmatova lived through great unfinished transitions. I visited her apartment in St Petersburg, which captured these sweeping changes in one place.” – Lois Quam, CEO, Pathfinder International

Kundera depicts the act of seeing, and even loving – another person – as a journey back and forth between exterior and interior realities. “Because all revolutions are rooted in a cell/individual.” – Sasha Krstic, President, Mastercard Canada

Amel Karboul and Dale Pfeifer both shared this answer to the ‘Hero’s Journey’. “The quest to save the world – and return home – is long and difficult but possible, if you listen carefully and bring people along with you.” – Dale Pfeifer, CEO, Goodworld

Does our relationship with time – our feeling of being limited by it – hold us back? “Time, in itself, is an unfinished revolution. 'Momo' helps us think about why time cannot be disregarded.” – Rui Teixeira, member of board of directors, EDP

We will continue to share recommendations from the library, choosing a handful at a time that relate to a common theme. We also welcome new recommendations from our community. Write to us on hello@theperformancetheatre.com and we’ll add it to the list on this page.

Since The Performance Theatre (TPT) 2018 in Berlin, we have been honouring the power of books to transform; collaborating with the team at Little Free Library on a pop-up TPT book exchange. Little Free Library is a non-profit organisation that inspires a love of reading, builds community connections, and sparks creativity by fostering neighbourhood book exchanges around the world. Over the years it has created a hyper-local economy around a very personal kind of value: ideas, comfort and inspiration.