"Planeta Lem" directed by Paweł Szkotak, will be shown outside of the competition, photo: Teatr Biuro Podróży
A new theatre festival has been called to life in Toruń, with the goal of introducing emerging artists of the stage to the city's youth
The competition review comes from the initiative of Jadwiga Oleradzka (Chief Director of the Festival) and Iwona Kempa (Artistic Director), who have made it their mission to present and promote young directors and actors to a generation of their peers.
The programme of the festival comprises not only theatre performances, but a concert series and many artistic events of all kinds of genre as well, organised by the creative youth of Toruń. The event is planned to take place every two years, switching off with the Contact International Theatre Festival, also hosted by the city.
First Contact aspires to host performances of the last two seasons, headed by emerging directors or engaging first-time actors. Performances are to be selected from the repertoire of professional stages, independent and private theatres, as well as diploma performances from state theatre schools all over Poland. The three-member jury will include a director and actors of the younger and older generations. This year, the critic Anna R. Burzyńska, and two actors, Krzysztof Globisz and Piotr Kruszczyński will be awarding three prizes - in the best director, best actress and best actor categories. An additional award for innovative direction will be granted by the Wilam Horzyca Theatre Board, inviting the winner to direct a production on their Toruń stage.
In total, 12 peformances are on the 2011 programme schedule. Outside of the competition, Teatr Biuro Podróży will make a special appearance with their visionary Planet Lem open-air show, directed by Paweł Szotak. Maja Kleczewska's Babel and Ana Nowicka's A New Theatrical Place will also be staged outside of the main programme.
Planeta Lem depicts the world of the future dominated by artificial intelligence and a passive human race intoxicated by illusions of affluence, leading to its subsequent degeneration and listless passivity. The protagonists of Planet Lem are figures known from stories and tales written by
Stanisław Lem, including Ijon Tichy, professor Tarantoga, the Lepniak community, supercomputer and robots. The world is inhabited by humanoid figures, whose sense of living is regulated by hallucinogenic substances. Under the watchful eye of the cyber-carriers, they live out their days coddled by the illusion of peace and well-being, while the automatons take control over every aspect of the human world - industry, finance and even arts and culture.
The production was made possible through Teatr Biuro Podróży's partnership with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The collaboration comes as part of a cultural programme commemorating the Polish presidency in the European Council in 2011. It will be shown in Brussels, Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid, Moscow, Kiev, Minsk, Pekin and Tokyo, in co-operation with the Polish Institutes and Polish embassies of those cities as well as local partners.
Repertoire of this year's First Contact Festival, held May 21-27, features 13 performances from 12 different theatres:
- Sztuka bez tytułu" / "Untitled Play of Anton Chekhov, directed by Agnieszka Glińska from Teatr Współczesny theatre of Warsaw
- Przemiana" / "Transformation, based on Franz Kafka's short story, directed by Magda Miklasz (director's and actor's debut) from the Narodowy Stary Teatr im. Heleny Modrzejewskiej / Helena Modrzejewska National Old Theatre of Kraków
- Trzy siostry" / "Three Sisters of Anton Chekhov, directed by Paweł Łysak from the Hieronim Konieczka Polish Theatre in Bydgoszcz
- Zemsta" / "The Revenge of Aleksander Fredro, directed by Weronika Szczawińska (director's debut) from the Teatr Dramatyczny im. Jerzego Szaniawskiego / Jerzy Szaniawski Dramatic Theatre in Wałbrzych
- 2084 based on George Orwell's work, directed by Michał Siegoczyński from the Teatr Powszechny im. Jana Kochanowskiego in Radomiu and the Teatr Na Woli im. Tadeusza Łomnickiego in Warsaw
- Nad" / "Above of Marek Bieliński, directed by Waldemar Zawodziński from the Teatr im. Stefana Jaracza in Łódź
- Morze otwarte" / "Open Sea of Jakub Roszkowski, directed by Marek Piaseczy from the Teatr Współczesny in Szczecin
- Bramy raju" / "The Gates of Paradise based on the novel of Jerzy Andrzejewski, directed by Małgorzata Bogajewska from the Teatr im. Stefana Jaracza in Łódź
- Koza albo kim jest Sylwia" / "The Goat or Who is Sylvia of Edward Albee, directed by Katarzyna Adamik from Och-teatr in Warsaw
- Don Kichote written by Mateusz Pakuła based on the original text by Cervantes, directed by Maciej Podstawny from Teatr Dramatyczny im. Gustawa Holoubka in Warsaw.
Source: press release