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E-Newsletter of the Polish Theatre Institute, Vol. I, Issue 3, September 2007
Editor: Małgorzata Semil
Contributors: Katarzyna Zielińska, Gabriela Detka, Iga Dzieciuchowicz
Editor’s Foreword
Welcome to The Polish Theatre Institute’s third newsletter about new Polish plays. These newsletters
contain synopses of plays by Polish authors which in one way or another have recently reached public
attention – either through publication or a performance, an award in a competition or a public reading. A
brief bio of the author and information about the availability of his/her plays in translation (where
applicable) is also included. We hope that in the foreseeable future we will be able to offer a proper
data-base of new Polish plays. More information about current events in the Polish theatre can be found
on the Institute’s website: http://www.e-teatr.pl/en/index.html where this and future issues of the
Newsletter will also be posted.
This third issue presents eight plays by six authors:
1. Biedny ja, Suka i Jej nowy koleś (Poor Me, The Bitch and Her New Buddy) by Michał Walczak
2. Bóg Niżyński (The God Nijinski) by Piotr Tomaszuk
3. Człowiek z Bogiem w szafie (The Man with God In His Closet) by Michał Walczak
4. Dotknięci (Touched) by Paweł Grabowski
5. Mrok (Darkness) by Mariusz Bieliński
6. Osobisty Jezus (Personal Jesus) by Piotr Wojcieszek
7. Ostatni tatuś (The Last Daddy) by Michał Walczak
8. Refren (Refrain) by Antoni Winch
Any correspondence should be addressed to: [email protected]
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Back issues are available at: http://www.theatre.pl
Introduction
Numerous festivals and contests play an important role in Polish theatre life. The Festival of
Contemporary Polish Plays R@port, organised by Teatr Miejski in Gdynia, is one of the newest festivals
of growing stature and importance. In this issue of our newsletter, we present plays which led to two
award-winning productions at the second edition of the Festival (May 2007). The authors – who
represent different styles and have different concerns – are both playwrights and directors, and
unquestioned stars of contemporary Polish theatre. Przemysław Wojcieszek, whose involvement with
the theatre began after he failed to raise the funds to produce his latest film project, returns in his play
Personal Jesus to his favourite topic: the fight for a dignified and happy life in a provincial town that
everybody is trying to escape from. Piotr Tomaszuk in his The God Nijinski recalls the brilliant dancer
Vatzlav Nijinski, making him the priest and offering in a bizarre mass in which the most important
moments of the dancer’s life are being summon up.
We also present here the winning plays from two interesting new playwrighting competitions. In the
competition organized by the NGO “Karta” (it documents and popularizes recent Polish and Eastern
European history), the first prize was awarded to the play Refrain by Antoni Winch. The play is a
subjective look at the events of World War II, presented with the use of a variety of theatrical means.
In another competition, organised by the Centre of John Paul II’s Thought, for plays inspired by
the life, thought and work of the Pope, the top prizes were awarded to Darkness by Mariusz Bieliński,
Touched by Paweł Grabowski and A Man with God in his Closet by Michał Walczak. The initiators of
this competition hoped to find an answer to their question about the influence of the Polish Pope on our
society: does it really exist, is it merely superficial, or does it run deep? The competing authors were
expected to demonstrate in their plays a heightened reflection regarding the contemporary human
being, in a broader perspective than the one which is fashionable in today’s theatre, in relation to others,
to nature, to God or gods, to work, to love, to creativity – in other words, from the perspective that
formed the subject of the Pope’s reflections.
The winning plays are not monuments to the Pope but rather show his influence on ordinary, often farfrom-saintly people, and also present a humorous and ironic analysis of the religiousness of Poles. The
organisers will publish an anthology of the best plays entered in the competition.
The young author Michał Walczak (b. 1980), who won a prize in this competition, is also represented in
this issue of the newsletter by summaries of two of his other plays: Poor Me, the Bitch and Her New
Buddy and The Last Daddy. Poor Me… is a twisted story about a love triangle. The ironic distance with
which the story is told turns this well-worn topic into a philosophical analysis of the phenomenon of the
personal “story”, which entirely subordinates the characters participating in it. The Last Daddy is a
contemporary fairy tale for children, dealing with the problem of overworked, absent fathers, from the
perspective of a child.
To supplement this information about new Polish plays, it is worth mentioning the recently published
Anthology of Polish Drama 1945-2005, edited by Jan Kłossowicz (Prószyński and Co.,Warsaw 2007). It
presents over twenty plays which were of importance in post-war theatre – modern classics which form
the background for the plays of today. The plays, organised in chronological order, are selected
according to the fact that they reflect the important changes – caused mostly by the Polish socio-political
situation – which were taking place in Polish culture during those years. Thus, alongside the works of
such masters as -Witold Gombrowicz, Tadeusz Różewicz and Sławomir Mrożek – we find here plays
which are testimonies to a specific period in time. Some use ‘historical costume’ or grotesque style to
deal with such issues as power and the absurdities of the totalitarian regime, as well as peoples’
attitudes towards them (e.g. Leon Kruczkowski, Jerzy Broszkiewicz, Stanisław Grochowiak). Thus, they
illustrate the search for new forms of expression into which the authors were forced by censorship under
communism and inspired by new currents in modern drama, most especially the Theatre of the Absurd.
Others (e.g. Krzysztof Choinski) escaped into classicism or mythology. Still others showed a complete
disinterest in topical matters and fashionable poetics (e.g. the work of Miron Bialoszewski or of Karol
Wojtyla – Pope John Paul II).
KZ
1.
Author: Michał Walczak
Title: Biedny Ja, Suka I Jej Nowy Koleś (Poor Me, the Bitch and Her New Buddy)
Opened: March 4-5, 2007, Teatr Ludowy in Krakow.
Cast: 2 men,1 woman.
The play tells the story of three characters involved in a love triangle. At first glance, this may appear
like a soap opera. However, we are invited to concentrate on the “story” which is made to seem an
autonomous being, almost as Fate, choosing characters to enact specific roles and binding them
together for ever. As long as it remains unknown, it is enticing, but once the character is engaged in it, it
becomes a tiresome and sinister kind of perpetual motion.
The characters intersperse trite, everyday statements with pseudo-scientific attempts at analysing their
situation, and with songs. They talk a lot, but barely communicate with each other: it is more important
for them to define and describe in words their own selves and the situation they are in.
In the first part – “Prehistory of the Drama” – all three characters are seen waiting on an empty stage for
the beginning of their real lives, i.e. the story, all the while quarrelling with one another like little children.
In “The Story Proper”, Poor Me, waiting for the Bitch, a painter, forever in a rush, to come home,
wanders around town. There, he badgers Her New Buddy, an aspiting writer, into listening to his story. It
is the love story of Poor Me and the Bitch. Her New Buddy visits them and is entranced by their
apparently natural sensual way of living. Poor Me, however, feels that their story is based on chance
and that he cannot control it. Therefore, he “sells” the story to Her New Buddy. Bitch talks of her
despair: she had hoped that the relationship with Poor Me would be her last story. She cannot face
being part of another one. She meets with Her New Buddy, however, and they both feel that their joint
story is beginning, replacing as “less true” the one in which Poor Me was involved. Poor Me constantly
intrudes upon the new couple – all three of them are aware that they are forever bound together in this
one story and that nothing can change this. Only now do they come up with, and assume their bizarre
names – as flat and insipid as the entire story – although they have been designated with them right
from the beginning. After a series of fights and quarrels, the Bitch goes back to Poor Me. Then, she
attempts to return to Her New Buddy. Nothing works: you cannot go back to old stories again.
In the “The Final Act”, Poor Me and Her New Buddy meet years later and visit the Bitch in hospital. She
has lost her mind, unable to deal with the travails of their shared story. For Poor Me, who in the
meantime has become a husband and a father, the story is now trivial and is best buried in the past. It is
a different thing for Her New Buddy. He decides to take the Bitch home. This time, it is he who hopes to
revive the story.
Walczak’s characters feel that the “story” deprives them of their freedom and autonomy, dictating their
behaviour and even ridiculing them with its banality (this feeling of dissonance between the idea of
oneself and the role one is forced to play is familiar from Luigi Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of
an Author”).
Yet the characters remain stuck in this vicious triangle, unable to break free, their only weapon being an
irony-laden analysis of their own situation.
K.Z.
Michal Walczak, b. 1980, trained as a theatre director at Warsaw Theatre Academy, is one of the most
popular and prolific Polish playwrights of the younger generation. After making his debut with
Piaskownica (The Sandbox, 2001; staged at 11 theatres, translated into German, English, Hungarian,
Czech, Italian) he wrote, among other plays, Podróż do wnętrza pokoju (The Journey to the Inside of the
Room; staged at 5 theatres, translated into German, Dutch, Lithuanian), Nocny autobus (The Night Bus;
translated into German), Rzeka (The River), Kopalnia (The Mine; translated into German and Russian),
Pierwszy raz (The First Time; translated into German and French), Kac (Hangover). and two plays for
children: Ostatni Tatuś (The Last Daddy) and Smutna królewna (The Sad Princess).
For more information about Walczak's plays in translation, contact his agent: Anna Wierzchowska,
[email protected].
2.
Author: Piotr Tomaszuk
Title: Bóg Nizyński (The God Nijinski)
Opened: September, 2006; Teatr Wierszalin, Suprasl
Cast: 2 men, 1 woman, a few other people
This trance-like drama, devoid of real action, takes place in the basement of a clinic for mentally ill in
Kreutzlingen. One of the patients is the brilliant dancer Nijinski who suffers from schizophrenia. Here, he
directs a bizarre, demented posthumous rite in honour of the creator of the Ballets Russes, Diaghilev,
recently dead in Venice. The co-participants in the ritual – named a Panichida (an Orthodox-Church
requiem, but including also elements of black mass and distorted Catholic ritual) – are other patients,
with “Romola” and “Diaghilev” in the leading roles. From the lines of these three participants – filled with
maniacal repetition – emerge the most striking moments of the dancer’s life. Nijinski is portrayed here as
both innocent and lascivious at the same time, a holy idiot whose God-given talent earned him earthly
glory and the adoration of numerous lovers. The most important of these – Diaghilev – is portrayed here
as Satan and a demiurge who utterly dominated Nijinski’s life. The memories of him are the climax of
the play. Nijinski strips himself naked, his babbling is an explosion of diabolism, amorality and conceit.
God sends rescue – a wife, Romola. The Devil-Diaghilev takes his revenge by not letting the dancer
perform. Nijinski desperately calls on God for help. The ending of the play consists of increasing
numbers of hospital reports about the dancer’s deepening illness, and ever more references to Christ’s
Passion. The sacrifice of Nijinski comes to fulfilment: “Romola” and “Diaghilev” nail him to a wooden
board – the crucified Nijinski keeps on dancing. They kneel and disown the crucifying of Nijinski. The
dancer himself, in his final prayer, asks God to “redeem us in your dance”. After which – as if after the
fulfilment of a sacrifice – he gets down from the board/“cross” and takes leave of his “followers”.
Tomaszuk’s play, inspired by Nijinski’s diary, portrays the dancer as a Christ-like being, for whom Satan
and God are fighting. He squandered God’s gift of the ability to redeem others through dance and
allowed himself to be controlled by a manifestation of Satan – Diaghilev, a being who, after years of
living on the fringes of awareness of his own sin, finally recognises and drives out the Devil, by dying on
the cross of disease.
Within less than a year of its premiere (directed by the author), the play has received four important
theatrical awards, most recently the Main Prize during the Second R@port Festival of Contemporary
Plays in Gdynia. The critics saw in the play not only the reminiscence of Nijinski, a great Pole, but also a
call for a debate about Polish religiousness – a call that was not (contrary to appearances) provocative
in nature, intended to offend true believers. They also discerned in it a call for debate about the status of
the artist, his relationship with God, as well as about acceptable and to moral and social boundaries.
The play has been translated into English.
K.Z.
Piotr Tomaszuk, b. 1961 – puppeteer, director, playwright (including Święty Edyp – Saint Oedipus,
translated into German), co-founder of the famous alternative theatre Wierszalin, triple Fringe First
award winner at the Edinburgh Festival. Tomaszuk directs his own plays, creating performances based
on very simple means of expression, far from realism, drawing on ceremonial, paintings, fairytales,
myths and legends. He is the winner of several dozen theatre awards. Since 2005, he has been Artistic
Director of Guliwer puppet theatre in Warsaw.
3.
Author: Michał Walczak
Title: Człowiek z Bogiem w szafie (The Man with God in His Closet)
This play was awarded second prize in a competition held by the Centre for John Paul II’s Thought
(March 2007).
Cast: 3 men (Adam, Father, The Man with God in His Closet), 3 women (Kama, Mother, A Very
Religious Woman)
The Man with God in His Closet is a tangle of several peoples’ stories. The author takes a look at
different attitudes towards God and the way people express their faith. Two pilgrimages by John Paul II
to Poland, separated by a period of several years, provide the background for the characters’ personal
experiences. The first of the plots is the love story between Adam and Kama. Instead of participating
with their parents in the pilgrimage, they experience their ‘first time’. Their relationship is short-lived but,
several years later, during the next pilgrimage of the Pope, they meet again on a bus, and begin a new
life together.
The second plot is the story of a Very Religious Woman – a bigot, criticising the allegedly noisy
religiousness of the young, yet capable of lying in order to present herself as a modest, deeply believing
Catholic.
The character from which the play takes its title, The Man with God in His Closet, is a mysterious
person. He serves as a link that unites all the other characters. This lonely widower found God at a
deserted bus stop, and invited him to live in his closet. He talks to him, feeds him pizza and, as a result,
is committed to a mental institution.
The biggest asset of Walczak’s script lies in its thorough analysis of social behaviour, exposing, in a
humorous and ironic way, the hypocrisy and falsehood of the external manifestations of religiousness by
representatives of three generations of Poles. But also the structure of the play is interesting.
Interwoven monologues, the fragmented and unchronological narration and specific language, all build
up to a rich and mysterious story.
G.D.
Michal Walczak, b. 1980, trained as a theatre director at Warsaw Theatre Academy, is one of the most
popular and prolific Polish playwrights of the younger generation. After making his debut with
Piaskownica (The Sandbox, 2001; staged at 11 theatres, translated into German, English, Hungarian,
Czech, Italian) he wrote, among other plays, Podróż do wnętrza pokoju (The Journey to the Inside of the
Room; staged at 5 theatres, translated into German, Dutch, Lithuanian), Nocny autobus (The Night Bus;
translated into German), Rzeka (The River), Kopalnia (The Mine; translated into German and Russian),
Pierwszy raz (The First Time; translated into German and French), Kac (Hangover). And two plays for
children: Ostatni Tatuś (The Last Daddy) and Smutna królewna (The Sad Princess).
For more information about Walczak’s plays in translation, contact his agent: Anna Wierzchowska,
[email protected].
4.
Author: Pawel Grabowski
Title: Dotknięci (Touched)
Second prize in a competition for a play inspired by the life, thoughts and work of John Paul II, held by
the Centre for John Paul II's Thought.
Cast: 4 men, 1 woman and 7 episodes.
The action takes place in an abandoned industrial hangar; the time includes the day of John Paul II's
death
The characters - Mundek, his adult daughter Ewa, as well as the homosexual Lola and the Chechen –
are all homeless outcasts, squatting in an abandoned hangar. On the day of the Pope’s death, Adam,
who has just been released from a reform school, joins the group. Ewa found him sleeping by a church
and took him in.
Mundek and Lola are quite openly hostile towards the newcomer; it is difficult for them to accept the
presence of a ‘stranger’. However, their reservations and lack of trust give way to kindness when Adam
helps Mundek – who is suffering from cancer – and takes him to a hospital. The day of John Paul II's
death is also the day when Mundek dies.
The well written, vivid dialogue, and the very subtle way in which the Pope’s ideas are presented, are
the assets of the play. Grabowski does not show crowds mourning the Pope’s death; instead he focuses
on people’s personal reflection about life and death, the individual way of perceiving and dealing with
the world.
Ewa, who cherishes the memory of being touched by the Pope; the Chechen, who felt the presence of
God when John Paul II visited Agca in his cell; the non-coincidental date of Mundek’s death; and the
meeting of Adam and Ewa – all this seems to underline that John Paul II left a trace in every human
heart, a trace of goodness and wisdom, a mark of hope.
I.D.
Paweł Grabowski (b. 1964) – a dentist by training, started his literary career by writing poetry; after
publishing a volume of poetry “I tylko łez nie było” (Only Tears Were Lacking) in 1993, he received a
number of prizes in poetry competitions . He has several plays for children and young people to his
credit: e.g. Akademia Pani Zuzy (Ms. Zuza's Academy), Jak to naprawdę bylo z Enamelką (How Things
Really Were With Enamelka) and also Dziś gwiazda drogę nam pokaże” (Today a Star Will Show Us the
Way.) In 2004 he was awarded first prize at the national children's and youth theatre competion in
Zielona Góra, for Opowieść o strachu na wróble i jego przyjaciołach (A Story About a Scarecrow and his
Friends). His play Szejk (Sheik) received the second prize at a national competition for a play about
AIDS/HIV.
5.
Author: Mariusz Bieliński
Title: Mrok (Darkness)
The play received the first prize in the 2007 competition for a play inspired by the life, thoughts and work
of John Paul II, held by the Centre for John Paul II's Thought.
Cast: 4 men, 2 women
Mariusz Bieliński’s play is actually a series of monologues which tell the story of one family.
The monologues of Mother, Father, Brother and the main character Mark contain memories, fragments
of events from long ago. These sometimes take the form of wishes or prayers, and eventually become a
kind of confession. The time in the play is undefined – childhood reminiscences are intertwined with the
present, the 12 year-old boy riding a bike is, a moment later, a 20 year-old soldier. We do not even
know if he is still alive (Mother asks: “Why did you kill yourself, my son?”)
What appears to be real changes into a nightmare when Marek describes in detail the murder of his
parents, and immediately afterwards the parents themselves appear in order to complete their story
about Marek, who once took lessons on the clarinet.
Bieliński’s text is a contemporary version of subjective drama – the portrayed world exists in the
character’s imagination, all the events become projections of his mind; even his best friend Wiktor
seems to be the product of imagination.
Interestingly enough, the Pope is never even mentioned directly. The ideas and wisdom of John Paul II
infuse the text in questions concerning God – His existence and his will – and concerning the sense of
life in contemporary world.
Bieliński sees the Pope's message not only as a call for compassion and love, but also as an appeal to
accept man’s doubts and fears, his weaknesses and difficulties in the search of God within.
The strength of the play is in its simplicity; an unusual ability to transform daily experience into reflection
about fundamental and unresolvable issues. As Bielinski writes: “Words uncover only a little. The rest is
darkness”.
I.D.
Mariusz Bieliński, b. 1968 – is an author of short stories, film and TV scripts. After graduating from the
Vocal-Acting Studio in Gdynia, he studied theatre directing at Warsaw’s Theatre Academy. His play
Cicho (Quiet) received the first-degree distinction in the drama competition organized by Teatr Polski in
Wroclaw and the monthly theatre journal Dialog in 2002. In 2003, his play Między (Between) received
an honorary mention in the same competition.
6.
Author: Przemysław Wojcieszek
Title: Osobisty Jezus (Personal Jesus)
Opened: September, 2006, Helena Modrzejewska Theatre, Legnica
Cast: 5 men, 3 women
Personal Jesus is the author’s stage version of the story he had earlier turned into a film Down the
Colorful Hill (2004).
Rysiek, a former carpenter and boxer, is released from prison. During his three years in prison, he kept
going thanks to his faith in God, and the thought that upon release he would start leading an honest life
with his girlfriend Agata, in the house bequeathed him by his father. Unfortunately, it turns out that after
his arrest, Rysiek's father gave the house to his other son, Jarek, who is now also Agata’s husband.
Agata is interested only in the money of each of her successive partners. Discouraged, Rysiek wanders
around his childhood town Wolimierz – a small provincial town with no future. He meets up with his
former friends: Janusz, now a priest, and with Tadek, with whom he had teamed up while committing
the thefts for which he ended up in jail. He tells them about his plans to get Agata and the house back.
In the reality, however, he is totally powerless. He does not find consolation in the church: he does not
get absolution at his confession. He refuses to go back to his criminal ways, though there are no other
prospects to get some money. He turns this way and that, not knowing whether to stay or leave –
Wolimierz seems a hopeless little town where it is impossible to live. Only the German, Bernard, whose
family used to live there before World War II, sees things differently. Bernard buys the house from Jarek
and tries to breathe some life into the town. Meanwhile, Jarek and Agata move to Warsaw, with plans to
start a business there. Rysiek stays alone, utterly dispirited. Jesus, to whom he appeals in his prayers,
remains deaf to his entreaties.
Personal Jesus is a hopeless portrait of life in the less-developed part of the country, where people were
brought up with traditional moral values, which in fact turn out to be entirely useless. From the religious
education they underwent during their childhood, they remember only snippets of the Bible; reciting
them brings some relief in a difficult moment, but not much more.
The only real motivation to act is the desire to start a better life somewhere else – at any price. These
who want to stay in their home-town and lead an honest life have no real chance to do so.
The performance, directed by the author himself, received awards during two important festivals of
contemporary drama: The Second R@port Festival of Contemporary Plays in Gdynia, and the 18th
National Competition for Staging Polish Contemporary Drama.
K.Z.
Przemysław Wojcieszek, b. 1974, is a film and theatre director, one of the main creators of Polish
independent films (debut in 1999 with Kill Them All, and then Louder than Bombs, A Perfect Afternoon,
and Down the Colorful Hill.)
He is a self-taught director, who started his career in the theatre after failing to raise funds to produce
his film script Made in Poland. Adapted for the stage, it was put on at the Helena Modrzejewska
Theatre, Legnica (2004) and turned out to be a runaway success, also receiving several prizes. During
the following three years, Wojcieszek has directed numerous other performances, based on his own
scripts, such as Whatever Happens, I Love You (translated, as Made in Poland, into English), and also
those of other authors (Darkroom, Two Poor Romanians Speaking Polish by Dorota Masłowska). In
2006 he received the prestigious Passport, awarded by the weekly Polityka to people for “original works,
forming the manifesto of the thirty-something generation, searching for their place in our reality”.
7.
Author: Michał Walczak
Title: Ostatni tatuś (The Last Daddy)
Opened: April 14, Teatr Lalka (a puppet theatre), Warsaw
Cast: Ania, Azor, Barbie, Dad, Mum, the Hooligan King, Hooligans, Vistula Lancers, a Talking Puddle,
the Grey Tram, the Three Tenors, a Rat, a Princess, a Pale Witch, a Big Black Bird, Alex von Bingo, a
Policeman, Reporters, Gorillas, an Adopted Mum, an Adopted Dad, a Security Guard, a Mermaid
This is a contemporary fairy tale for 7 to12 year-olds, dealing with the problem of fathers who are
overworked, exhausted or absent, never having time for their children.
Little Ania gets for Christmas a teddy bear, instead of a dog which she really wanted. The unwanted toy
is given the typical dog’s name Azor. However, the teddy bear and the girl become friends, especially
since the bear, who pretends to know everything, helps the girl with her homework. Soon the two are
joined by a ‘sweet lady’ – a Barbie doll. Meanwhile, Ania’s father keeps breaking his promise that he will
find some time for her. As a justification for this, the teddy bear makes up a story which comes true:
upon the orders of the Pale Witch, Ania’s Dad is kidnapped by the Big Black Bird. Ania, Azor and Barbie
set out to find Dad who, along with other overworked fathers, is imprisoned in a glass skyscraper and
guarded by gorillas released by the Pale Witch from the zoo.
The three friends experience several adventures in the city at night-time. They meet a good witch who
doesn’t age thanks to silicone. They encounter a Very Wise Book which keeps spouting clever things.
There is a Hooligan King, who became bad because of an unhappy love affair in his childhood; the three
tenors; a talking puddle; the M.P.’s son – spoiled and bad-mannered Alex von Bingo, who time and
again adopts parents for himself (just as there are children's homes, there is a Parents Home, from
which one can choose and adopt parents); and Ania is even temporarily locked up at a police station.
Finally, the whole group – including the Hooligan King and Alex von Bingo – reaches the skyscraper and
overcomes the gorilla army by offering them bananas. The Big Black Bird kidnaps Ania but soon flees,
scared by the group of freed daddies. And the Hooligan King recognises in the Pale Witch his childhood
sweetheart – a girl who, neglected by her overworked parents, ended up in a children's home and swore
vengeance on all fathers.
All ends well – Alex’s father promises to press his boss to reduce working hours, Ania’s father promises
to spend more time with her, Alex and Ania become a couple, as do the Witch and the Hooligan King.
The Last Daddy is a humorous view of the adult world (self-important TV news, absurd bureaucracy in
the police, a children’s parliament), as well as a game with the stereotypes of ‘masculinity’ and
‘femininity’, played by Barbie, Azor and Alex. In this world, the good Ania and her toys often get into
trouble but, thanks to cunning, teamwork or kindness, there is always a happy ending. Working
together, they overcome their prejudices towards each other and discover that it is human suffering
which most frequently brings about bad deeds.
K.Z.
Michal Walczak, b. 1980, trained as a theatre director at Warsaw Theatre Academy, is one of the most
popular and prolific Polish playwrights of the younger generation. After making his debut with
Piaskownica (The Sandbox, 2001; staged at 11 theatres, translated into German, English, Hungarian,
Czech, Italian) he wrote, among other plays, Podróż do wnętrza pokoju (The Journey to the Inside of the
Room; staged at 5 theatres, translated into German, Dutch, Lithuanian), Nocny autobus (The Night Bus;
translated into German), Rzeka (The River), Kopalnia (The Mine; translated into German and Russian),
Pierwszy raz (The First Time; translated into German and French), Kac (Hangover). The Last Daddy is
his second play for children (after Smutna krolewna – The Sad Princess).
For more information about Walczak's plays in translation, contact his agent: Anna Wierzchowska,
[email protected].
8.
Author: Antoni Winch
Title: Refren (Refrain)
Refrain was inspired by historical events, drawn from the archives of the KARTA Centre (an
independent NGO which documents and popularizes the recent history of Poland and Eastern Europe,
promotes tolerance and democracy; it continues the activities of the underground “Karta" and the
clandestine Eastern Archives of the 1980s).
The form of the play is like a living diary or a theatrical “stream of reminiscences”. The starting point is a
story told by Grandfather to his Grandson. The old man is reminiscing about wartime events from more
then sixty years ago, which dramatically affected the course of his life; however he never quite manages
to reach the end of his story.
Grandfather lives in his past, in his memories, despite the fact that most of them are blurred, becoming
distorted, and incomplete.
Revisiting a certain clearing in the woods – the site of events of long ago – the old man remembers his
sweetheart, with whom he spent the last night before World War II broke out; he also tells of young
Polish soldiers being shot by Nazis, and about a troop of drunken partisans.
His memories bring back the spirits of the dead, those who participated in the tragic wartime events: the
Woman-In-Love, the Man-In-Love, the Apocalyptic Lover, Partisans, the Ghost of a Soldier, and the
Drunken Troop of Eternal Gamekeepers.
Each of these characters has its own tragic wartime story to tell; the stories become intertwined, and the
plots merge, building a chronicle of entangled – and not always laudable – human destinies.
The strongly rhythmical musical structure of the play is in keeping with its title: certain phrases keep
returning, giving the play the form and poetics of a song.
Despite the seriousness of the topics raised, Winch succeeds in introducing some absurd humour and
in drawing full-blooded characters with wit and sympathy; this way the story avoids the lifeless or stilted
character of a return to the past, but rather is dynamic, colourful and resonates with a contemporary
audience.
Refrain is a story about people who, regardless of the dramatic turn of fate brought about by the war,
enjoyed life and suffered in the same way as we do today.
They were not always heroes, they had their weaknesses, they could be prosaic and dull, and their
consciences were weighed down by burdens great and small.
Such an approach to the topic of the war invests the events with universal appeal; individual human
destinies become much more engaging than these described in history books or chronicles.
The variety of theatrical forms called for in the text, such as pantomime, story-telling, elements of dance
theatre – contribute to the quality of the play and make the staging of Refrain an interesting challenge.
G.D.
Antoni Winch, b.1986. He is a student of the Department of Theatre Science at the Warsaw Theatre
Academy. Refrain, which is Winch’s first play, was awarded third prize in a competition for a play
inspired by the archives of the KARTA Center. The competition was organised by the monthly Dialog
(where it was published in issue 6/2007) and the KARTA Center. Neither the first nor the second prizes
were awarded.
Publisher:
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