"Carmen funebre"; photo: Murdo McLeod / Teatr Biuro Podróży
The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Theatre Academy has invited the Polish theatre troupe to perform their politically-charged piece at the 4th edition of the International Theatre Festival in Thrissur
The festival brings together theatres from India and other nations, including Germany, Israel, Great Britain, Lithuania and Poland. Teatr Biuro Podróży is set to present its award-winning performance of "Carmen Funebre", a heavy work of theatre that deals with ethnic conflict and the war in Bosnia in the 1990s. The work won the Fringe First Award when it premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in 1995 and has since toured the world at festivals, including London's Watch this Space Festival in the summer of 2010 as part of the POLSKA! Year Polish season in the United Kingdom.
In preparation for the performance, the theatre team met with refugees from the former Yugoslavia. Their stories contributed to the creation of universal metaphors which illustrate the fate of displaced peoples. In the performance Teatr Biuro Podrozy employs spectacular means in to attract the attention of both experienced theatre-goers and occasional passers-by. Stilts, fire, lighting effects and terrifying musical sequences evoke fear and compassion. There is little dialogue in this performance, but the sequence of suggestive images leaves a universal impression on all audiences. The performance is outdoor theatre at its most powerful, and its violent themes are as timeless as they are tragic.
The troupe's productions have been presented in 46 countries on six continents (including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Palestine, Singapore, Taiwan, USA, and most European countries). Teatr Biuro Podróży is said to be one of the most interesting alternative theatres stemming from the Counterculture movement. In accordance with the idea of group creativity, their works are prepared together by the whole team, under the direction of Paweł Szkotak. The group refers to traditions of Polish Counterculture - the Laboratorium theatre of Jerzy Grotowski, Gardzienice theatre and the Teatr Ósmego Dnia. They draw upon the traditions of Polish Romanticism, with its faith in a free, yet socially engaged creativity.
Performances at the Festival in Thrissur take place at the T. Mohammed Memorial Regional Theatre, with TBP taking the stage on the 6th & 8th of February, along with a lecture led by Szkotak and his actors.
Teatr Biuro Podróży's presence at the festival has been made possible thanks to the support of the Polish Embassy in New Delhi.
For more information on the festival, see: www.theatrefestivalkerala.in
Source: Embassy of India in Warsaw