Georges Banu on the Aura of Live Arts as a Refuge Value

Georges Banu, a scholar and essayist, has published 'Amour et désamour du théâtre' (Actes Sud) and is hosting a series of talks at the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris. In his analysis, he draws on Walter Benjamin's concept of aura to argue that live arts—theatre, dance, performance—preserve an archaic, unique aura that resists mass reproduction. This aura, tied to the hic et nunc of the event, becomes a refuge value in an age of exponential reproducibility. Banu contrasts the reproducibility of text-based theatre with the irreproducibility of performance, noting that the latter cultivates an aura of inaccessibility and fugitivity. He cites Marina Abramović's performance at MoMA as an example of legendary aura. The series at Odéon includes sessions with Laure Adler, Valère Novarina, Régis Debray, Pippo Delbono, Laurent Gaudé, Jean-François Peyret, René de Ceccatty, and Krzysztof Warlikowski.