Serious mockery
In 2016 in Poznań’s Polski Theatre, Anna Karasińska directed Drugi Spektakl (The Second Performance, trans. MD), a play which commented on the customs of the theatre-going audience. It features short, humorous scenes which instruct the audience how they should behave in the theatre. Łukasz Badula noted that the play is an intimate study of crowd psychology as well as a satire:
Karasińska catalogues theatregoers’ behaviour without any ill will. Drugi Spektakl is not a mockery of the so-called ‘Sunday audience’ or criticism of casual reception. The director juxtaposes the most extreme attitudes and reaches the roots of theatre.
Drugi Spektakl was awarded for its originality and uncompromising take on theatre at the 7th Koszalińskie Konfrontacje Młodych Festival.
Karasińska returned to Rozmaitości Theatre with the play Fantazja (Fantasia, trans. MD), which once again revolved around theatre as a medium, problematising acting techniques and the actor’s role in theatre production. She continued exploring these themes in the play Wszystko Zmyślone (Everything’s Made Up, trans. MD). It was the first of Karasińska’s plays to premiere in Stary Theatre in Kraków. In March 2018 the artist presented the play 2118: Anna Karasińska, which was the first part of a futuristic triptych curated by Tomasz Plata. In this case the director gave up meta-theatrical references for more simple dramaturgy. However, she still stayed true to her stylistic devices, sense of humour, and ideas about engaging the audience.
In December 2016 the director participated in the debate Ojcobójczynie (Patricide Girls, trans, MD), together with Katarzyna Kalwat, Magda Szpecht, Weronika Szczawińska, and Anna Smolar. The debate was hosted by Piotr Gruszczyński and facilitated by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute at the d’Automne à Paris festival.
In September 2018 at the Plac Małachowskiego 3 exhibition, the artist directed a performative tour through Zachęta art gallery. During this project, Karasińska used theatrical devices to create visual works of art. In 2018 the artist was nominated for a Polityka award. Dariusz Kosiński explained:
Karasińska, in a seemingly superficial form, undertakes a serious reflection about people as characters in world theatre.