Bogumił Gudalewski
The legendary puppet theatre from Białystok went on a world-wide tour with performances for adult audiences. In Moscow, showings of two plays were accompanied by an exhibition and a lecture on the history of Polish and European puppet theatre
BTL (Białostocki Teatr Lalek) presented "Gombrow...ski’s March" and "The Pole"at Moscow’s Sergey Obrazcov Central Academic Puppet Theatre. On the 29th of September, an exhibition of photographs and puppets was held at the capital's Manej Centre.
"The Pole"
It is 1912. Robert Falcon Scott and his companions are making their way back from an expedition to the South Pole. Scott is feeling defeated. Upon his arrival at the Pole he had discovered a tent with a Norwegian flag, some food, and a letter written by Roald Amundsen, whose expedition accomplished Scott's goal a month earlier.
Scott, broken by failure, sets off home on a gruelling journey during which he and his companions get caught in a snowstorm. Trapped in a tent only 12 kilometres from the coast and the awaited refuge on a ship, the explorers await their doom, dying of starvation and bitter cold.
This is the setting in which "The Pole" (originally entitled "Poliyus"), written by Nabokov begins. It is a story of the last moments of people who, faced with the inevitable, try to come to terms with their past. The story shows that in spite of real hardship, they are capable of truly heroic acts.
Directed by: Ewa Piotrowska
Cast: Krzysztof Bitdorf, Jacek Dojlidko, Ryszard Doliński, Adam Zieleniecki,
Stage design: Julija Skuratova (Lithuania)
Music: Antanas Jasenka (Lithuania)
Video: Džiugas Katinas (Lithuania)
Lighting: Bogusław Kasperuk
Sound: Jarosław Bartnicki
Stage management: Leszek Augustynowicz, Adam Popławski
Based on the novel by: Vladimir Nabokov
Translated by: Irena Lewandowska
"Gombrow...ski’s March" - In Search of a New Polish Hero
"Gombrow...ski’s March" had its premiere on the 16th of April, 2010. The title of the play is a play on the lyrics of the Polish national anthem "Dąbrowski’s March". The performance is based on a story by Witold Gombrowicz, one of the most rebellious Polish writers of the twentieth century. It attempts to respond to the myth of a Polish hero, and to voice a discussion on the Polish character and national phobias. The play, directed by the Austrian founder of form theatre, is a mocking and ironic play. It employs various forms of contemporary performance alongside the art of puppet theatre. The Austrian director, Christoph Bochdansky comments:
I wanted to create a system within which the actors themselves could express their attitudes towards Polish mentality. Without their input the show would never be what it is. What the audiences see is a mix of ideas and digressions brought in by me as well as the whole team.
Direction and stage design by: Christoph Bochdansky (Austria)
Cast: Sylwia Janowicz-Dobrowolska, Izabela Maria Wilczewska, Ewa Żebrowska, Wiesław Czołpiński, Ryszard Doliński, Artur Dwulit, Zbigniew Litwińczuk
Co-direction: Paweł Chomczyk
Lighting: Bogusław Kasperuk
Sound: Tomasz Jurgielewicz
For more information on BTL - Białostocki Teatr Lalek, see: BTL Puppet Theatre
Date: 28th-30th of September, 2011
Venue: Sergey Obrazcov Central Academic Puppet Theatre, Manej Exhibition Centre, Moscow
Organised by: BTL Białostoski Teatr Lalek
Project cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute