A novel production of "Jekyll & Hyde" builds on a series of performance projects created by the young theater director, Klaudiusz Ślusarczyk, which expand upon the idea of dance theater
The performance's script is based on fragments of the classic Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Marquis de Sade's Philosophy in Bedroom, African Psycho - a book by Alain Mabanckou, as well as the director's own writing.
R.L. Stevenson's double personality has long functioned as a paradigm of the internal conflict of the sense of what is good and what is evil. It is Klaudiusz Ślusarczyk's distinct approach to text adaptation, combined with the original form of his performances that endows the theme with a contemporary meaning. Both at the level of the text and movement, the approach is based on releasing the world of imagination - that of the director, the actors, and, finally - that of the audience.
The director has us witness the experiences and impressions of four young women. Different situations trigger for them the encounter with unexpected, unconscious impulses within themselves. Not easily manageable, these impulses seem to determine their relations with others. The question that's posed is how these darker realms operate within human beings.
In the words of one of the characters:
"Yes, I love vulgarity. I claim it loud and clear. I love it because only it says what we are, without the hideous masks we wear by nature, which turn us into mean beings, hypocrites, ceaselessly running after decency, a quality I couldn't care less about."
A recurring theme of Ślusarczyk's work thus emerges in "Jekyll&Hyde" - that of transferring the ways in which one's family functioned onto the reality of present relationships. The performance explores to what degree man is manipulated by his own history, and then… how he himself manipulates it. It seems that even violence, whether enacted or spoken, can actually be a means of becoming noticed. The reality of relationships is placed under scrutiny in the contemporary world, and with four women on stage, the question of femininity is strongly present as well.
Aesthetically, the performance takes the audience on a journey of a dream-like character. The narrative begins, is broken off, and picked up again - at the level of the spoken word, the music played, and the movements embodied. The audience witnesses a series of conversations, impressions and gestures - one situation flows into the next. The dialogues are accentuated and then, at times, interrupted with very sensual movement imagery that takes on both a mysterious and metaphoric value, and seems to be another language in itself.
The movement can be described as very dynamic sequences of gestures. Because of the somewhat illustrative component, one is tempted to call up comparisons with pantomime. Yet, as the physicality is quite poetic, and the illustration somewhat abstract, the movement remains a dance, while definitely expanding upon conventional ideas.
Quoting a review by Tomasz Marciniak,
"The recondite nature of Ślusarczyk's works seems to be his biggest asset, he does not politely lead the viewer by the hand, or offer easy solutions. Instead, he forces to think and creatively analize the reality created on stage."
"Jekyll&Hyde", produced by Couscouskuskus Theatre, directed by Klaudiusz Ślusarczyk, music by Tadashi Yabe of the United Future Organization (Japan), video art by Bartek Polonski (Lithuania), robotics by Bogdan Grygo, cast: Marta Jalowska, Ewa Niemczewska, Krystyna Fiszer, Dominika Strojek, project manager: Sylwia Domańska, idMa Foundation.
Premiere: March 14, 2011 at 19:00, repeat performances scheduled for April, May and June.
The project is supported by the honourary patronage of the Australian Embassy.
Chwila Club
Ogrodowa St. 31/35, Warsaw
For more information, see:
www.couscouskuskus.com