A scene from Caeserian Section. Essays on Suicide
The Wrocław-based theatre group has been presented with the prestigious Herald Angel Award for its gripping performances of Ceaserian Section. Essays on Suicide. Nominated in the Physical/Visual theatre category together with 3 other Polska Arts productions, the production was annouced a winner of the Total Theatre Award on the 23rd of August 2012
The performance forms part of the troupe's Gospels of Childhood. Triptych series, and it has garnered praise and acclaim, moving numerous festival goers to tears. It is being shown at the festival's Summerhall venue until the 20th of August.
Since their inception in 1996, The Bank of Scotland Herald Angel Awards have been an integral part of the Edinburgh Festival scene, celebrating and rewarding the diverse range of talent from the various festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Jazz & Blues Festival and The Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The awards have been bestowed upon some of the world's most recognised names such as Hollywood star Alan Cumming and Irish playwright Enda Walsh. Herald Angels are awarded to the best of the festivals’ performers, venues and backstage crew who have managed to impress The Herald's distinguished panel of arts critics.
The following articles from various theatre critics in Scotland indicate the deep impact that Teatr ZAR's play has had on the festival's audience.
A review from Jake Orr written for A Younger Theatre, an online journal of the young generation gave the play unwavering praise and five out of five stars:
For me, seeing Ceasarean Section. Essays on Suicide (...) once again pinpoints the beauty and excited moment when I find theatre that I’ve been looking for all year. (...) Whilst the images and movement evoke the physical portrayal of destruction and saviour that suicide teeters between, the choral singing does so much more. It evades the body, provoking an emotive quality that reduces you to tears. Resonating, and calling upon the primitive and earth-like qualities that humans posses, I was rendered speechless. This is not just masterful theatre, this is living, breathing theatre of epic proportions.
The Skinny's journalist Steven Fraser, who decided to title his four star review of the play Cheerful Stuff stated that
What we are confronted with (...) is masterful physical theatre and an honest and through provoking interpretation of suicide, compulsion and despair. Teatr Zar have tackled a serious, relevant and vital subject matter with the grace, genuine honesty and poise that it requires.
The Guardian's Lyn Gardner wrote in her article:
There is pain – but a sense, too, that these people are survivors, clinging to life with a grip that may be fragile, but which can't be loosened. (...) The overall effect is immersive, as sound and visuals tumble against each other. It feels as if the performers have peeled away every layer of skin, exposing their very souls.
And the festival's portal edinburghfestival.list.co.uk concludes a review from Carrie Tucker with the following paragraph:
With so many visual treats you could be mistaken for thinking Caesarian Section tackles its subject matter on a purely aesthetic level but there’s a strong sense of compassion here. This is a performance attempting to grapple with a difficult and complex but deeply human emotion and doing so in an elegant and sensitive way
The Total Theatre Awards shortlisted 4 Polish productions among the 9 candidates of for the Physical/Visual Theatre category. The three other productions of the Polska Arts programme nominated for the prize were Songs of Lear by Song of the Goat Theatre, The Blind by KTO Theatre, and Teatr Biuro Podróży's Planet Lem.
For more details on the performance showings in Edinburgh, see: ZAR Theatre / Caesarean Section. Essays on Suicide / Dir. Jarosław Fret
Editor: SRS
Source: press release
thumbnail credits: Ditte Berkeley, Kamila Klamut and Matej Matejka in Caesarean Section. Essays on Suicide by Teatr ZAR. Photo: Łukasz Giza