Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Polish theatre holiday

Hey Poland, I'm back! Aren't you beautiful? All full of holiday lights and a great big theatre festival. What a delight you are! 



I wrote my last blog the day before the election. It was a blog filled with fear and anxiety. It turns out that if you add in some anger, this is often my state of being now. Except for the past five days. I am in Krakow, Poland at The Divine Comedy Theatre Festival. I haven't thought about the future of my nation for at least three whole days (until I turned on BBC yesterday. Ugh.) It's been a nice break. 



The brief description for the festival is "A theatre holiday where the best Polish shows are presented in a true Polish showcase. The most dramatic part of the Festival is the Polish Contest INFERNO within which the most provocative and exciting productions of the past season compete for the grand prize. 'Inferno, comprises the most distinguished and widely discussed performances, that showcase the wide range of talents and artistic aspirations of Polish directors. Its main purpose is to present the diverse landscape of Polish theatre life as well as to expose audiences to the latest trends and areas of artistic exploration and experimentation that our directors have to offer,' enthuses Bartosz Szydłowski, Divine Comedy's Artistic Director." 

If I was a zillionaire, I would bring most of these show to Revolutions. Not because they are perfect but because they are brave and exciting experiments. As I often encounter in Polish theatre, performers have a fantastic mix of both bold courage and natural ease. It's like watching a charismatic tightrope walker. A performer who is wild and electric but also in complete control and in their element. Self awareness goes away. That "Look at me! I am acting so well!" veneer does not exist. The check in. All of it is gone. What is left is skilled bravery, which is captivating to watch. And that is just the actors. The minds of the directors, writers, and designers run wild. Again, not all is perfect. The editor in me often goes on overload. The writer and director in me has a lot of notes but the sheer imagination and creativity is inspiring and joyful. 

It would be too much to write about each show, but here are some thoughts on a few that I enjoyed very much. 

Lars Jan's The Institute of Memory (TIMe) is a multimedia show about family and history. It is a detailed and sharply performed investigation that starts with a desire to understand an absent father and turns into a discovery of identity and culture. The actors have a lovely mix of wonderful technical skill and deep emotions which allows the storytelling style of repetition, pieced stories, and grid based movements to come alive in a deeply felt way. I am fascinated with memory and I loved the way the show dug into that.  I really enjoyed this piece, and I am hoping to bring it to Revolutions. 

Robert Robur is a performance based on an unfinished novel called "The Unusual Adventures of Robert Robur" by Miroslaw Nahacz. Directed by Krzysztof Garbaczewski, this show is epic. It is a science fiction/adventure/love story utilizing live action film. They had a set behind the set where they performed and filmed scenes with a GoPro type camera and we witnessed this film in real time on a giant eyeball shaped screen. As the play went along more of the live action moved on stage (and all around the theatre.) This four hour play was full of magic. Of course I have a million notes, things I would fix or change, but what a crazy night at the theatre. It tapped into issues around the media, reality tv, disconnection, desire, culture, and technology. It was wrapped up in a weird murder mystery, changed gears in the third act, and used fabulous 1980's style graphics and synthesized music. It was bananas and I really had a good time.



And then there was We Get What We Believe In. I arrived at the theatre to find an enormous table had been constructed with seats all around for the audience. In the center of the giant table was a man in a bathtub. At your seat was an electronic voting device and piece of paper and a pen. Ahhhhhhh...an interactive piece. Yes, please. As with all these shows it is complicated to explain, but this show was described as being based on the novel "The Master and Margarita" (and it was, kinda) but it was really an exploration into democracy, choices, classism, politics, and modern Poland life. I was very taken with these actors who made direct contact with most of the audience, using the audience's interactions as part of the work. We voted on questions posed to us and were able to see the results. They had videos of the Warsaw actors experimenting with the themes out in the world. My favorite was one of the actresses in a store sobbing in front of the diaper section because the choices for diapers was overwhelming. Her interaction with an older woman trying to help her was hilarious. The show had many elements of bouffon and it was used well. Taking the piss, exposing the bullshit, pulling back the curtain. I appreciated this work very much. I am certain this show is too large and expensive to bring to Albuquerque, but I plan to check in with the director. It was funny, strange, and fascinating. I liked this show very much. 



There are four days left and they are packed! Tonight I am going to see Teatr Figur Krakow's new piece Huljet, huljet which we are bringing to Revolutions in 2018. How much do we love TFK??? I can't wait to see this new work. It is an installation inspired by the memoirs of Jewish Krakow citizens in the Ghetto. I saw Daga the first night I got here, but I can't wait to see the rest of the gang tonight. There are more shows on the schedule, a tour of the Kantor museum, a few more meetings with directors and curators, more pierogi and zurek, more vodka, more castle and Krakowian magic. I am having a fabulous time with Dominika and Greg. It is so lovely to spend time with brilliant artists who you admire and connect with in your favorite city in all the world. 

Dominika and I have a crazy last few days travelling to Szczecin for a show and then to Wroclaw for more meetings (and Hubert!) so I hope to write again soon with more adventures. Love from Krakow to Albuquerque. 

Oh hey. I just looked outside and it is snowing. Magic. 




1 comment:

  1. It looks fantastic. They got some theatre in Poland. Keep the blog going.

    ReplyDelete