Polish theatre director Radosław Rychcik has been re-invited to São Paulo after the spectacular success of his In the Solitude of Cotton Fields, which the Brazilian audience had the opportunity to see during last year’s Tempo Festival in Rio de Janeiro and the Polish Theatre Week in São Paulo.
During the two performances in Brazil, the huge audiences exceeded the expectations of the organisers. The play was also highly acclaimed by the heads of the SESC cultural organisation responsible for coordinating the theatre programme. They approached Rychcik and asked whether he would be interested in putting on Jean Genet's The Maids with his permanent Polish cast as well as prominent Brazilian actresses at the festival the following year.
On The Maids, Radosław Rychcik will once again work with Michał Lis and Piotr Lis from the band The Natural Born Chillers, whose live music for the play In the Solitude of Cotton Fields was enthusiastically received by the Brazilian audience in Brazil. With their trans music and incredible visuals, the Lis brothers create an extraordinary atmosphere for Rychcik’s plays. Music by the Lis’ will be played by Brazilian musicians. Hanna Maciąg, a young Polish video artist, costume designer and actress, will be responsible for the set design and costumes.
Three Brazilian actresses will join the Polish cast: Denise Assunção – an actress and singer, who worked with the legendary Brazilian theatre group Oficyna under the direction of Ze Colso and was the lead in Frank Costrof’s Anjo Negro; Bete Coelho – an icon of Brazilian experimental theatre in the 1980’s and 90’s. In recent years she has performed in Robert Wilson’s Brazilian productions at SESC São Paulo; and Magali Biff – a longtime collaborator of Gerald Thomas’ and has recently worked with the crème de la crème of Brazilian theatre Gabriel Vilel and Felipe Hirsch. She has performed in Brazil, Germany and Portugal.
The Maids, directed by Radosław Rychcik
Premiere performances:
7th, 8th, 9th July 2017, International Theatre Festival of Rio Preto
Additional performances:
14th July – 13th August 2017, SESC Unidad Santana in São Paulo
The performances are organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, under its flagship brand Culture.pl, as part of the programme to promote Polish culture in Brazil.
Source: promotional materials, compiled by MKD, translated by NR, June 2017
