The scene from "Lód", In the picture: Danuta Stenka, photo. Kuba Kiljan / Kuźnia Zdjęć
The performance at the National Theatre in Warsaw featured, amongst others, Danuta Stenka, Jerzy Radziwiłłowicz and Mariusz Bonaszewski in the cast. Russian audiences will be able to see the play on 3rd and 4th March on the stage of the State National Theatre in Moscow. This event is unusual in that, so far, Russian theatres are reluctant to stage the repertoire of the popular contemporary writer, Vladimir Sorokin. The work to bring this literary bestseller to the stage, with its predatory and perverse vision of world history after World War II, was undertaken by the Russian theatre director Konstantin Bogomolov - a controversial figure who could be seen as that country's counterpart to Poland's Warlikowski. - I beat the fear of Sorokin – said Bogomolov in an interview with Culture.pl before the Polish première of the play.
The performance was met with extreme opinions by critics, reviewers and the Warsaw audience.
We didn’t expect such a performance after the most rebellious Russian director. Ascetic to the limit, Konstantin Bogomolov’s Ice (Lód) at the National Theatre in Warsaw is a radical gesture, and as a spectacle, a near masterpiece. - Jacek Wakar writes in the Daily Legal Newspaper
How will the Russian audience react?
Before we find out, it should be noted that Vladimir Sorokin is a controversial writer, the author of the plays and scenarios; a master of style, accused of the demoralization of society and the spread of fascism and pornography. After the spectacular protests of 2002, during which the pro-Putin youth organization rose against the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre performing Sorokin’s libretto, flushing torn copies of his novel down a toilet located in the very centre of the city. Directors of theatres are still afraid of the public reaction to the writer’s texts. Has the Polish staging a chance to change it?
I do not know what will be the reactions of the audience, the very look of the performance is extraordinary and unusual for the national stage. I try not to repeat what I'm doing, I'm still looking for new forms. The text itself is valuable to me - very difficult to an stage adaptation of, stylistically complex, dense with meanings and nuances. The work on "Ice" was a difficult process for me internally. I'm proud of what we could do together. I beat my fear of Sorokin’s texts. Shortly, I’ll attempt to realize the performance based on his latest short story - said the director at the rehearsal before the Warsaw première.
Sorokin proves that the modern system of government in Russia had not changed since the time of Ivan the Terrible. He is a fantastic stylist who plays with language, stereotypes and history. The meaning of his work is pessimistic, because it touches the most difficult issues not only of Russia, but also throughout Europe. The Warsaw première, already commented on widely in Moscow, opens to Bogomolov the doors to places that were before slammed shut in front of him and Sorokin. There will be a breakthrough not only in Russia, more and more names of Russian playwrights and directors also appears on our posters. I am glad that we break stereotypes and bring Russian literature and culture closer to the Polish public. This is what I was fighting for- says Agnieszka Lubomira Piotrowska, translator and scholar of his work.