The “Interpretacje” Festival 2016
PRZEMOC.STOP! (STOP THE VIOLENCE)
The Professor of the University of Warsaw beaten in a tram because he was talking with his friend in German. Polish man beaten to death in the UK simply because he was a Pole. Several dozen people killed and injured in the Nice terrorist attack because they found themselves at a wrong place at a wrong time. Policemen shot by a sniper in Dallas and several dozen victims killed in the Paris terrorist attack. People who lost their lives in the Brussels terrorist attack or Syrian children dying everyday – we start and finish our days hearing about death.
What makes us more and more violent? Where does violence come from? Does everybody carry a murder gene? Do circumstances change people? Or are people the very root of cruel and heartless times? We listen to authors warning us and observe mechanisms they uncover in their plays. We cannot let our lives be the battlefield.
Katarzyna Janowska
Art Director of the Festival
MASTER PERFORMANCE:
PODOPIECZNI (THE DEPENDENTS)
DIRECTED BY PAWEŁ MIŚKIEWICZ
National Stary Theater in Kraków
The play is based on Elfriede Jelinek’s Die Schutzbefohlenen (The Dependents) and tells a story of refugees who took over a church in Vienna while waiting for their stay in Austria to be legalised. Paweł Miśkiewicz and Joanna Bednarczyk adapted the piece written by the Austrian Nobel prize winner, and extended the context to entire Europe which now tackles serious migration crisis. They created slightly grotesque, yet compelling and very contemporary play which, on one hand, deals with human fears, frustrations and prejudice, and on the other, unveils the urge to maintain familiar, and therefore safe, social order. The play recaps all urgent ideological feuds over the limits of freedom, autonomy and humanity, as well as the manner in which suffering is presented in the media. It brings up the problem of oppression which equally impacts all parties to the conflict. However, most importantly, it asks questions about European identity with refugees being mirrors which reflect us and our own ideals.
Paweł Miśkiewicz – actor and director, former head of the Polski Theatre in Wrocław (2000-2004) and executive and art director at the Dramatic Theatre Of the Capital City Of Warsaw (2008-2012). He starred in plays by many prominent directors, i.a. Krystian Lupa, Jerzy Jarocki and Krzysztof Warlikowski. He made his directing debut staging Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote in Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków. He directed plays in Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź and Warsaw. In 2001, he received an award in theatre for “great insight into reading 20th-century literature on the theatre stage.”
“Actors perform very casually with a strong trace of irony. The form is clearly corresponding with the situation in which characters found themselves – it must be irritating and boring in order to best reflect the state of uncertainty and suspension of the dependents.”
Piotr Urbanowicz/ Konstruowanie nicości (Building nothingness) Nowa Siła Krytyczna
JURY OF THE COMPETITION:
Roman Dołżański – theatre critic and columnist, graduate of the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS). Between 1995 and 1998, he worked as a reporter. Since 1998, he has been writing theatre reviews for independent Russian journal Kommiersant. He serves as art director of New European Theatre and deputy art director of the Theatre of Nations in Moscow. He was the chairman of the commission of the largest Russian theatre festival – the Golden Mask Festival – in Moscow in 2003, 2004 and 2008.
Adam Ferency – theatre and film actor, director, graduate of the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. He made his debut in the 1970s, on the stage of the Dramatic Theatre Of the Capital City Of Warsaw in Karykatury (Caricatures), a play by J.A. Kisielewski, directed by Gustaw Holoubek. Primarily connected with three big Warsaw theatres – the Wola Theatre (when it was run by Tadeusz Łomnicki), the Contemporary Theatre run by Maciej Englert and the Dramatic Theatre Of the Capital City Of Warsaw in which he has been performing since 1994. He starred in plays directed by i.a. Krzysztof Zaleski, Kazimierz Kutz, Maciej Englert, Piotr Cieplak, Piotr Cieślak, Antoni Libera, Krzysztof Warlikowski and Krystian Lupa. His extensive portfolio includes parts in such plays as i.a. The Master and Margarita, Crusades, Endgame, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, African Stories, Blackbird. On the screen he starred in i.a. Childish Questions by Janusz Zaorski, Blind Chance by Krzysztof Kieślowski, Interrogation by Ryszard Bugajski, Kanalia (The Rascal) by Tomasz Wiszniewski and Pornography by Jan Jakub Kolski. He received a lot of awards for his performances in Teatr Telewizji (Television Theatre) and Teatr Polskiego Radia (Theatre of Polish Radio).
Agnieszka Glińska – director, actress and graduate of the Acting and Drama Directing Faculty at the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. She was art director of the Studio Theatre between 2012 and 2015. She made her directing debut in Rattigan’s Harlequinade staged at the Jan Kochanowski Theatre in Opole. Most of her plays were staged at Zygmunt Hübner Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw and Łódź and other theatres in Warsaw, such as Ateneum, the National Theatre in Warsaw, the Contemporary Theatre, the Dramatic Theatre and the Studio Theatre. Her widely recognised plays include i.a. Schnitzler’s La Ronde, Bambini di Praga based on Hrabal, Perzyński’s Lekkomyślna siostra (Reckless sister), three Czechow’s plays: Cherry Orchard, Seagull and Untitled play, Vyrypaev’s Illusions, and A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians by Masłowska. She worked with students of the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw creating diploma performances of plays by favourite authors. She worked for Teatr Telewizji (Television Theatre) as well. Recently, she made her debut in cinema with feature film #WSZYSTKO GRA (#ALL UNDER CONTROL).
Lech Majewski – film, theatre and opera director, scriptwriter, poet, prose writer and painter, graduate of the National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre, member of the Directors Guild of America and European Film Academy. Author of The Hypnotist and creator of video art features DiVinities and Blood of a Poet. He made his debut as film director in the 1970s with a short story entitled Annunciation which is one of the two segments from the Announcement of Silence film. At the beginning of the 1980s, he made his theatre debut in London where he staged Homer’s Odyssey on the River Thames. His first opera was Penderecki’s Ubu Rex, staged at the Grand Theater in Łódź. At the beginning of 1990s, he moved to Hollywood where he started cooperating with David Lynch’s “Propaganda Films” studio. Polish audience knows him mostly for his feature films, such as Life Hurts, Angelus, The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Mill and the Cross, and Onirica, for which he was nominated for various film awards.
Paweł Mykietyn – composer, clarinettist and creator of music for films and theatre. A graduate of composition studies in Włodzimierz Kotoński’s class at the University of Music in Warsaw. He made his debut in theatre in 1994, when he arranged music for Adam Hanuszkiewicz’s Dozwolone od lat 16-tu (Permitted from the age of 16). He was musical coordinator at the Studio Theatre in Warsaw between 1997 and 2001, and at the New Theatre since 2008. He composed music for Krzysztof Warlikowski’s plays, as well as Piotr Cieślak, Paweł Łysak, Agnieszka Lipiec-Wróblewska, Grzegorz Jarzyna and Zbigniew Brzoza. Composer of music for films i.a. by Małgorzata Szumowska (Stranger, 33 Scenes from Life, Elles, In the Name Of), Andrzej Wajda (Sweet Rush, Walesa. Man of Hope) and Jerzy Skolimowski (Essential Killing and 11 minutes). He created The Magic Mountain opera. Presented with Polish Film Awards: Eagles and awarded at the Film Festival in Gdynia.
THE SELECTION PANEL:
Katarzyna Janowska – journalist, Art Director of the Polish Festival of the Art of Directing INTERPRETACJE. Between 2010 and 2011, she was an editor in chief of “Przekrój” weekly, between 2011 and 2015, president and editor in chief of thematic cultural channel broadcasted by TVP Kultura. Currently, publishing director and editor in chief of Culture Department at Onet RASP, where she is responsible for various cultural content, including video programmes.
Wojciech Majcherek – theatre critic, graduate of Theatre Studies Department at the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. For several years, he was editor in chief of “Teatr” magazine. Since 2005, he has been working for TVP Kultura where he currently serves as theatre editorial manager. Juror of several prestigious theatre competitions. Author of critical reviews and articles related to theatre. Editor of dozens of TV programmes and transmissions of theatre performances. He runs the blog Nie tylko o teatrze (Not only about theatre).
Roman Pawłowski – publicist, playwright, theatre curator and deputy art director at TR Warszawa. He deals with problems of new dramatic art and cultural politics. Cooperates with “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Notatnik Teatralny”. Carries out his own critic writing and documentary theatre workshops. Creator of the SOPOT NON-FICTION Festival for documentary theatre. Curator of the International Theatre Festival New Classic of Europe at the Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Łódź. He edited and published two anthologies Pokolenie porno i inne niesmaczne utwory teatralne (Pornography Generation and other tasteless theatrical pieces [2003]) and Made in Poland (2006) which ignited the development of new dramatic art in Poland. Between 2008 and 2010, he was co-founder and lecturer of the Laboratory/School of Drama. Since 2013, he has been running classes at Laboratory of New Theatre Practices at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw. In 2015, he published a series of interviews with top Polish authors and theorists entitled Bitwa o kulturę #przyszłość (Battle for culture # future) in which he asked about the future of culture.
PERFORMANCES TAKING PART IN THE COMPETITION:
WHITE POWER, BLACK MEMORY
DIRECTED BY PIOTR RATAJCZAK
Białystok Dramatic Theatre
The play is inspired by the collection of Marcin Kącki’s documentaries about Białystok. The book, which shows the Polish region of Podlachia as neofascist and xenophobic, sparked off controversy which was addressed by artistic circles as well. Piotr Ratajczak’s play is a reaction towards disputes that took over media, and heated debates about the history and identity of the residents of this region. His play consists of stories of people and the city – partially adapted and partially written from the scratch – which provoke the juxtaposition of different viewpoints and attitudes that may relate not only to Białystok, but to any other city as well. Authors don’t judge any part of the conflict. They just ask difficult questions, including whether it is possible to open dialogue after many years of negligence and land-grabbing, leaving such questions unanswered.
Piotr Ratajczak is theatre director and former art director at the Dramatic Theatre in Wałbrzych (2013-2015) – when he was running the theatre, a record number of plays was produced. He started his professional career in Szczecin, working at Krypta Theatre, Theatre-3 in Szczecin and the Contemporary Theatre. In general, he staged plays outside the main theatre centres in Poland, i.e. in Koszalin, Bydgoszcz, Bielsko-Biała, Zielona Góra. For a long period of time, he was also involved in indie theatre. Since his resignation from the position of art director, he directed several performances in Zabrze, Katowice, Sosnowiec, Szczecin and Olsztyn.
“The role of White power, black memory is not to expose something but show that we voices discussing growing wave of verbal and physical violence can still be raised, not only from the perspective of editorial offices in the capital city. It may be a poster play, but sometimes hanging posters is an act of civil responsibility and courage. And power.”
Witold Mrozek/ Czyja siła i jaka pamięć w Białymstoku (Whose power and what memory in Białystok). “Gazeta Wyborcza”
WILGEFORTIS CZYLI O TYM, JAK ŚWIĘTEJ PANIENCE BRODA ROSŁA (WILGEFORTIS – FEMALE SAINT WITH A BEARD)
DIRECTED BY AGATA DUDA-GRACZ
The Musical Theatre in Gdynia
Original dramatic and musical performance by Agata Duda Gracz. The director was inspired by a legend of a female saint Wilgefortis (also known as Kumernis) whose father wanted to marry her off to a Pagan against her will. Wilgefortis was contained in darkness and devotedly prayed to God all night. She begged him to save her from unwanted marriage. Her prayers were answered – she grew a long beard. The man she was supposed to marry was discouraged and called off the wedding. She was crucified by her father in an act of revenge. However, in a play directed by Duda-Gracz, saint Wilgefortis is punished in a different way. In the world of meaningless rituals, violence, oppression, hypocrisy and sin there is no place for true love and this is the tragedy of the main character. Wilgefortis – a female saint with a beard is not only criticism of superficial fate, but also deep and intimate story about the pursuit of meaning; about experiencing love, reflecting on one’s life and getting over losses.
Agata Duda-Gracz is theatre director and scenographer. She made her debut with Byron’s Cain when she was still a directing faculty student. She assisted Tadeusz Bradecki and Jerzy Jarocki. Her other solo shows, for which she often created scenography, were staged primarily in theatres in Kraków, i.e. the National Stary Theater or Juliusz Słowacki Theatre. Later, she got involved with Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Łódź and then, she started continued cooperation with the Musical Theatre Capitol in Wrocław. In Capitol, she made her debut with a show based on her own script, Ja, Piotr Rivière… (I, Piotr Rivière…) inspired by confessions of Rivière who was convicted for numerous murders in the 19th century. After spectacular success, she initiated Improwizacje (Improvisations) i.e. a series of live theatre performances, which continue till this day.
“Wilgefortis by Agata Duda-Gracz, staged at the Musical Theatre in Gdynia, hits you really hard. Sometimes it’s fascinating, sometimes repelling story of good and evil as well as devotion and vulgar, yet not disgraced religiousness. This morality play is just perfect for our times.”
Jacek Wakar/ Z nich zaś największa jest miłość (Love is the greatest of them all) “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”
UNBEARABLY LONG EMBRACES
DIRECTED BY IVAN VYRYPAEV
Zygmunt Hübner Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw
The newest production of the creator of July and Illusions. A story of four young New York city residents who struggle to find their place in real world. They perform monologues about their life which is full of endless contrast: it’s both brutal and fragile, exciting and idle, prosperous and empty. They speak in poems and curse life. The characters are unable to reach the desired state of consonance and their lives become a nightmare. This changes only after they encounter the supernatural. It turns out that trying to live life to the fullest, i.e. seeking new pleasures, violent sex and living on high speed, results in pseudo happiness and temporary satisfaction. Using primarily words and emotions, Vyrypaev created an intimate, moving and amusing show about contemporary world which is deprived of metaphysical elements and thus, imperfect.
Ivan Vyrypaev is a Russian director, playwright and actor. He made his debut in 1998 in Irkutsk, with his original play Dreams. The play, which deals with the topic of substance dependence among young Russians, caused a scandal as a result of which the theatre was closed. The director moved then to Moscow and started cooperation with Teatr.doc. Vyrypaev’s plays are well-known and staged all around western Europe. Royal Court Theatre in London was the first to ever stage a play by this Russian playwright. Since then, Vyrypaev has become the most staged young Russian playwright in the world. In Poland, he was first known as film director. His theatre directing debut came in 2009 when he staged July, a monodrama starring Karolina Gruszka as 60-year-old murderer (she received several awards for this role) at the Wola Theatre.
“It’s like a romantic comedy shown as a horror movie; or like Woody Allen after being forced to binge watch TV series created by Ilona Łepkowka”. High and low, cheap and expensive, hustle and bustle of the city versus small-town lust, cosmic energy and chatting with a dolphin, getting high and getting sober. Kusturica’s Arizona dream mixed with Jarmusch’s coffee and cigarettes.”
Łukasz Maciejewski/ Z fotela Łukasza Maciejowskiego (From Łukasz Maciejowski’s armchair). AICT
PUNKT ZERO: ŁASKAWE (POINT ZERO: THE KINDLY ONES)
DIRECTED BY JANUSZ OPRYŃSKI
Provisorium Theatre in Lublin
Play based on the novel by Jonathan Littell The Kindly Ones and fragments of two other novels by Wasilij Grossman Life and Fate and Everything Flows. It’s a story of Max Aue, German officer, member of an elite group of “Masters of death” and executioner exterminating Jewish people. Creators of the show deal with the topic of Holocaust and make yet another attempt to deliberate on modernity and the essence and effects of civilisation processes, using Auschwitz extermination as the starting point. However, their story doesn’t take place in the past, but right here and right now, in a modern corporate company. “Do you know for sure would you do if you were in my shoes?”, asks Max Aue in The Kindly Ones. The show asks forward and provocative questions and forces the audience to reflect on the history in the context of ethics, and contemplate morality in contemporary world.
Janusz Opryński is a theatre director, distinguished for his work for fringe theatre in Poland. This Polish Studies graduate is also Deputy Art and Programme Director of the Cultural Centre in Lublin and the head of the Provisorium Theatre since its very establishment. He made his debut in the 1970s, with W połowie drogi (In the Middle of the Road) based on Gombrowicz’s Ferdydurke. In 1998, he staged this play again with Witold Mazurkiewicz and Theatre Company. The production, which premiered during the “Konfrontacje Teatralne” International Festival, received several awards, was shown multiple times in Europe and USA, and is now considered one of the most important theatre events of the 1990s. In his creative work, he staged not only Gombrowicz, but also Dostoyevsky, Miłosz, Herling-Grudziński and Rilke.
“The show is largely based on The Kindly Ones, a novel by Jonathan Littell, yet it is not a simple adaptation of the piece. Intertwined with Wasilij Grossman’s Life and Fate and Everything Flows, the play becomes a multi-layered historiosophical treaty on one hand, and shocking story about humanity on the other hand.
Aleksandra Pucułek/ U progu komory gazowej (Facing the gas chamber) “Gazeta Wyborcza Lublin”
AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
DIRECTED BY JAN KLATA
National Stary Theater in Kraków
The newest show staged by Jan Klata, based on the play by H. Ibsen. Doctor Stockmann, the main character of the play, discovers that water in a resort town in contaminated with bacteria. Although this is sensational news, it’s inconvenient for the town’s mayor and residents for whom tourism is the main source of income. Jan Klata’s interpretation of An Enemy of the People skilfully highlights analogies between events from Ibsen’s work and current situation in Kraków. Klata directly deal with contemporary issues of the region, yet he also discusses problems faced by the entire country and even world in general. In his show, he takes a look on imperfections of democracy, soulless of authorities and the value of truth which always has a price in the capitalistic world.
Jan Klata – theatre director and playwright. Since 2013, Art Director at the National Stary Theater in Kraków. During his more than 10 years of professional experience, he staged shows in various Polish cities, primarily in Wrocław: at the Polish Theatre and the Contemporary Theatre. Before becoming Art Director, he directed several plays staged at the National Stary Theater in Kraków, such as The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (2006), Oresteia (2007) and Trilogy (2009). After becoming Art Director, he staged Strindberg’s To Damascus, as well as Oedipus the King and Ubu the King by A. Jarry and Shakespeare’s King Lear. Klata cooperates with theatres in Germany. He made his debut outside Poland in 2006, with Shakespeare’s Richard III at the Schauspielhaus in Graz. His other shows staged in Germany include: Ravenhill’s Shoot/ Get Treasure Repeat at the Dusseldorfer Shauspielhaus, Schiller’s The Robbers and Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Schauspielhaus in Bochum.
“In his new play, Jan Klata makes eternal dilemmas depicted by Ibsen more contemporary. Although he still honours silly and cartoonish poetics, An Enemy of the People, adapted by Michał Buszewicz, is actually a simple story which tells us that even though the world is far from being beautiful, it is still worth fighting for.”
Michał Centkowski/ Prosta historia (Simple story) “Newsweek”
Kid’s section:
ANIMACJE (ANIMATIONS)
DIRECTED BY WIESŁAW CZOŁPIŃSKI, AGNIESZKA MAKOWSKA
Silesian Puppet and Actor Theatre ATENEUM
Intimate and silent show based on animation which primarily uses the body of an actor. It’s also a chance to illustrate all opportunities offered by puppet theatre, and show kids different outlook on human body and surrounding objects. Micro-stories in theatre convention – sometimes dynamic or tranquil, witty or thoughtful, yet always universal – capture imagination of the youngest members of audience and encourage them to discover the world through creative fun.
Wiesław Czołpiński – actor, puppeteer and director at the Bialystok Puppet Theatre, Vice-President of the National Academy of Dramatic Art for out-of-Warsaw Department of Puppet in Białystok. He made his debut in 1986, with the show The Decameron 8.5 based on Boccaccio’s work and directed by Jan Wilkowski. Since then, he starred in several dozen puppet shows staged by i.a. Piotr Tomaszuk, Wojciech Kobrzyński, Ondrej Spišák, Wojciech Szelachowski, Krzysztof Rau and Paweł Aigner. He made his solo directing debut with The Parades by J. Potocki.
Agnieszka Makowska – actress and scenographer, graduate of the Department of Puppet – Theatre Arts in Białystok. She starred in and created scenography for independent theatres in Warsaw (Wytwórnia Theatre, A3 Kolekcjonerzy Wzruszeń Theatre), Białystok (Doomsday Company, Informal Group Avis, Malabar Hotel Theatre) and Kraków (Theatre of Figures). She starred in several feature films, such as Pokaż kotku, co masz w środku (Honey, show me what you’ve got) by Sławomir Kryński and Heritage by Andrzeja Barański.
THE LOVE OF THREE ORANGES
DIRECTED BY ZBIGNIEW GŁOWACKI
Silesian Puppet and Actor Theatre ATENEUM
The play directed by Zbigniew Głowacki is based on an 18th-century fable by Venetian playwright, Carlo Gozzi. Although the show in Katowice, which follows the style of Italian theatre of Commedia dell’arte, was prepared by younger audience, it will sure engage adults as well. It’s witty fast-paced and sometimes absurd story of a magical place called Karo, as well as sad hypochondriac who is not amused by anything, about evil witch and good sorcerer, deceitful courtiers and funny servers, but most of all, it is a story about love, jealousy and power.
Zbigniew Głowacki – puppet theatre director, graduate of Polish Studies at the University of Warsaw and faculty of directing at the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, branch in Białystok. After graduation, he made his debut at the Puppet and Actor Theatre in Lublin where he staged Opowieści pana Leara (Stories of Mister Lear). He directed plays primarily in Olsztyn, Łomża, Białystok and Toruń. His Krawiec Niteczka (Tailor Thread) staged at the Silesian Puppet and Actor Theatre ATENEUM was presented in the Kid’s section of the 14th edition of the Polish Festival of the Art of Directing INTERPRETACJE.
Additional events:
LENI RIEFENSTAHL. EPIZODY NIEPAMIĘCI (OBLIVION EPISODES)
DIRECTED BY EWELINA MARCINIAK
Silesia Theatre in Katowice
The newest production of Ewelina Marciniak staged at the Silesia Theatre in Katowice The performance is based on the play by Iga Gańczarczyk and Łukasz Wojtyska written on the basis of memoirs of Leni Riefenstahl and biography of this German director of films about Nazis. It’s a story about big and charismatic personalities, the power of films, memory, violence and social responsibility of artist with a hint of a spy drama.
Ewelina Marciniak – theatre director, graduate of the Faculty of Drama Directing at PWST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków, and Dramatology and European Studies at the Jagiellonian University. She made her debut in 2010, with Witkacy’s The New Deliverance staged at the Polish Theatre in Bielsko-Biała. In 2015, she was granted Polityka’s Passport (an award presented by weekly magazine “Polityka”) for “hard work, stage momentum and sense of humour. For her explorations of the situation of women in the masculine world of theatre, and intriguing results of such exploration.” In 2014 and 2015, she received Audience Award at the Polish Festival of the Art of Directing INTERPRETACJE for her interpretations of The Miser and The Portrait of A Lady.
YOUNG INTERPRETATIONS:
This year the main competition of the Polish Festival of the Art of Directing will be accompanied by a separate section consisting of shows directed by a new generation of directors. This way, we’ll be back to the ideological roots of Interpretacje competition, which in fact was launched in 1998, as a competition for young theatre artists.
Directors that won Konrad awards in Katowice throughout the years, have now become the leaders of the theatre in Poland. By presenting works of their younger colleagues, we want to learn what questions are raised by the successors of Anna Augustynowicz, Grzegorz Jarzyna, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Maja Kleczewska, Radek Rychcik, Jan Klata and Monika Strzępka. How do they work with actors, space and text? How do they interpret literature and reality? What needs, dreams, fantasies and fears are reflected in their shows?
Among artists invited to participate in the Young Interpretations section are both beginners and directors with wider experience, both students and graduates of directing faculties of different theatre schools, artists from repertory theatre and underground scene, as well as artists involved in other art disciplines, such as contemporary dance or film. They all share innovative outlook on theatre, and courage to discover new ways of artistic expression. It is worth to follow them as they are the future of Polish theatre.
Roman Pawłowski
the curator of the Young Interpretations sections
DRUGI SPEKTAKL (THE SECOND PERFORMANCE)
DIRECTED BY ANNA KARASIŃSKA
Polish Theatre in Poznań
A second play directed by a film director and graduate of the Film School in Łódź who debuted in 2015, with a brilliant show entitled Ewelina płacze (Ewelina is crying) staged at TR Warszawa as part of the Teren TR programme. In the Polish Theatre, Anna Karasińska dealt with the phenomena of theatre audience: its customs, expectations and stereotypes related to the reception of art. Actors of the Polish Theatre star in The Second Performance which happens every night among theatre audience. They reveal different types of audience members and their habits as if they were separate species. At a metaphorical level, it addresses the issue of truth and falsehood as viewed through the prism of the specific circumstances of a theatre audience member.
Anna Karasińska – a graduate of the National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre, second director of productions, such as Neighbours directed by Grzegorz Królikiewicz and Papusza directed by Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze. She made her debut with the show Ewelina płacze (Ewelina is crying) staged at TR Warszawa as extension her work under Teren TR programme
KRZYWICKA/KREW (KRZYWICKA/BLOOD)
DIRECTED BY ALINA MOŚ-KERGER
Modrzejewska Theatre in Legnica
Krzywicka/blood, a play by young playwright Julia Holewińska, has been based on the biography of Irena Krzywicka (1899-1994). The story of this intellectual, writer, rebel, depraver and the pioneer of the Polish feminist movement is a starting point for an analysis of the identity of contemporary woman, her place in the Polish community, and violence to which she is subjected every day. The play staged by a team of female producers and actress is an attempt to write the most recent history of Poland from feminine perspective. Here, intimate stories of women clash with excerpts from the national imaginarium, as well as Polish myths, church hymns and quotes from classic novels, handbooks and television. In this way, a portrait is drawn of a woman who is bitter and rebellious against the history of Poland which is still written from men’s perspective.
Alina Moś-Kerger – a graduate of Film and Television Production at the University of Silesia and International Relations at the University of Warsaw. Her debut play was Karin Stanek prepared as part of the Young Artists of the Korez Theatre project. She has directed multiple shows staged in theatres in Katowice and Gorzów Wielkopolski.
VERSUS
DIRECTED BY JĘDRZEJ PIASKOWSKI
The New Theatre in Poznań
Rodrigo García is an Argentinian and Spanish playwright and director. Polish audience knows him for Golgota Picnic, a play which was supposed to be shown during the 2014 edition of Malta Festival in Poznań, but was cancelled due to pressure from Catholic organisations. Jędrzej Piaskowski, student of the Directing Faculty at the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, decided to stage Versus, another García’s play which constitutes a vivisection of relationships in a toxic family. In his debut play, the director builds a micro-world of an urban family in order to brutally destroy it and show the audience what lies underneath everyday routine. It’s not only a protest against domestic violence but a manifesto for the powerlessness of art, which cannot change reality, it can only dispassionately record it.
Jędrzej Piaskowski – graduate of the Directing Faculty at the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. He published pieces and reviews in “Dwutygodnik” and “Ruch Muzyczny” magazines. Versus is his theatre debut for which he received an award from the Minister of Culture and Cultural Heritage during the Forum of Young Directors in Kraków.
ZRÓB SIEBIE (MAKE YOURSELF)
DIRECTED BY MARTA ZIÓŁEK
Komuna//Warszawa
Meet performers: High Speed, Coco, Lordi, Glow and Beauty. They will take you on a journey to techno clubs, gyms and corporate churches in which the new generation shapes their bodies and image. The show of Marta Ziółek – choreographer and performer who plays Angel Dust – is a combination of theatre, contemporary dance and performance. It’s ironic portrayal of new generation which transforms their bodies into machines in relentless pursuit of identity. Individual body monologues intertwines with hybrid group training and trance practice consisting of rave, yoga kundalini, Latino flow and dancehall.
MARTA ZIÓŁEK – choreographer and performer. She studied at the choreography department of the School for New Dance Development (SNDO) in Amsterdam and was a student of the Interdepartmental Individual Studies in the Humanities at the University of Warsaw. After Ciało Oko (Body Eye), Zrób siebie (Make yourself) is her second project carried out for Komuna//Warszawa theatre. She created choreography for Anna Karasińska’s Ewelina płacze (Ewelina is crying) play which was shown last year in the Interpretacje.doc section of the 17th edition of the festival. She is a co-creator of Kem space in Warsaw, together with Alex Baczynski-Jenkins.