Both festivals have already hosted Polish companies in previous years. Although it is not their first contact with Polish culture and artists, this year's presentation set a new stage of cooperation.
Wroclaw-based company Studio Matejka appeared first on New Delhi's Bharat Rang Mahotsava (National Theatre Festival of India) on 18th January, 2014 with the performance "Awkward Happiness". The show was very well received by the audience and gained rave reviews in major newspapers. The artists also conducted workshops at the National School of Drama - the organizer of this most important dramatic theatre festival held annually in India's capital. This was the first such long workshop organized in New Delhi by a Polish group.
From New Delhi, Studio Matejka went to Thrissur, where they performed on 2nd February, 2014 at the International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFoK). The Studio presented their performance in an intimate space before an audience consisting primarily of artists and journalists. Also this picky audience, just as before the audience in New Delhi, gave the Polish company a very warm welcome.
From the beginning of January, Thrissur also hosted another Polish theatre company - the award-winning Poznan-based Teatr Biuro Podrozy (TBP), recognised as an avant-garde author of visionary open air performances. Seven Polish artists, together with a group of local actors, had been working on Polish-Indian co-production "Burning Flowers: 7 Dreams of a Woman". The premiere of the project took place on the first day of the festival - 27th January, 2014. The performance, devoted to the issue of physical and symbolic violence against women in India, was the result of joint work of Indian actors and Polish TBP company. It was very well received by about 2000 spectators. The important and timely subject of the performance, combined with a plastic form revoking to Kerala's traditional rituals associated with fire, sparked a vivid interest among the audience. The second staging of the show, on 3rd February, 2014, was watched by about 1,500 people.
The project was carried out in collaboration with the Polish Cultural Institute in New Delhi.
Organizers: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Bharat Rang Mahotsav (National Theatre Festival of India), International Theatre Festival of Kerala
Partner: Polish Institute in New Delhi
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