Founded by one of Poland’s most inventive theatre directors, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Nowy Teatr is a collaboration between performers and audiences. Each event organized by Nowy Teatr is a starting point for discussions, meetings, conversations, an exchange of thoughts and words. As published on their website, Nowy Teatr is not simply about giving performances; but rather, about creating a space for dialogue and initiating exchanges even on the most inconvenient of topics.
The tour will kick off on 29 January 2014 with the staging of Nancy. Wywiad (Nancy. Interview) at the Festival Pays de Danses in Liège, Belgium. Directed by Claude Bardouil, performed by Magdalena Popławska and Claude Bardouil, the play transgresses the borders between theatre and dance. The Nowy Teatr team begins the play with the figure of punk rock legend Sid Vicious, a musician who died from a drug overdose, and is suspected of murdering his fiancée, Nancy Spungen. Nancy, embroiled in a romance with Sid Vicious, follows a chain of events: prostitution – drugs/violence – access to stars. By focusing on Nancy’s story, the performance provides non-traditional and interdisciplinary forms of expression.
Nancy. Wywiad (Nancy. Interview) will play on a second stage on 4-6 February 2014 at Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris, France.
The third performance in line will be Warlikowski’s new project, Kabaret warszawski (Warsaw Cabaret), going on stage once again at Théâtre National de Chaillot of Paris, on 7-8 and 11-14 February 2014. Kabaret warszawski is inspired by John Van Druten’s play, I Am A Camera, and John Cameron Mitchell’s film, Shortbus. By channelling two distinct historical realities – Weimar Germany prior to the Nazi takeover, and post-9/11 New York – Warlikowski’s Kabaret warszawski serves as a mirror through which the Warsaw of today can see itself. In bringing together these two eras and places, the director explores the limits or restrictions on freedom in today’s world. With Kabaret warszawski, the team of Nowy Teatr confronts diverse scenarios of oppression.
Continuing performances of Kabaret warzsawski will take place throughout Europe at the following venues: 6-7 March 2014, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Luxembourg; 13-15 March 2014, Le Théâtre de la Place, Liège, Belgium; 3-4 April 2014, La Comédie de Clermont – scène national, Clermont-Ferrand, France and the closing performance on 24-26 June 2014, at the Münchner Opernfestspiele in Munich, Germany.