Adam Nawojczyk (Ondine) - at the top of the picture; photo: Krzysztof Bieliński / Stary Teatr
Krystian Lupa presents "Factory 2", a theatrical fantasy built around the historic figure of Andy Warhol and his Factory, at the prestigious Belgian arts festival
In this lively production
Lupa imagines what might have become of this mythical New York studio. He combines the utopias of the 1960s with the harsh reality of our age, Warhol's screen tests with contemporary happenings. His Warhol is a shy man as much as he is a leader of a micro 'society of the spectacle': the artist as a master manipulator, leading light and voyeur. But is this really about Warhol or Lupa?
The Polish director has developed his own show, the fruit of a long piece of improvised work, by adopting the creative methods of the pop artist and rendering them anew through his Kraków-based Stary Teatr troupe. By removing the boundaries between real actors and fictional characters and between historic figures and today's artistic personalities, he orchestrates an inspired manipulation. The festival organisers have called the show a "total theatre offering immersion in the midst of the creative process".
The show pushes the envelope with its Warholesque mix of dramatic action, involving nudity and strong language. Factory 2 was inspired by Victor Bockris' book The Life and Death of Andy Warhol. A longtime associate of Warhol, member of the Factory and frequent collaborating writer of Interview magazine paints a comprehensive, although crude portrait of the pope of Pop culture. Blending Warhol's own video works with improvisation and performance, the group's exploits are meticulously re-imagined from a period of utopia to a stark present day reality. The second dimension of the show's study of the Factory is the "creation of the movie that Andy Warhol didn't make" as a metaphor of the process initiated by Lupa and his troupe, whose evolution on stage is registered by a camera. Featuring the staggeringly talented actors of Stary Teatr, arguably Poland's leading ensemble, this enduring piece is a profound exploration on the very process of making art.
Factory 2 is a winner of the illustrious Europe Theatre Prize. The show debuted in Paris in September 2010 at the Théâtre de la Colline and in Dublin at the Ulster Bank Theatre Festival in October of that year.
- Factory 2, adaptation and set design: Krystian Lupa, costumes: Piotr Skiba, dramaturgy: Iga Gańczarczyk, Magda Stojowska, cast: Iwona Bielska, Iwona Budner, Joanna Drozda, Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik, Urszula Kiebzak, Sandra Korzeniak, Marta Ojrzyńska, Katarzyna Warnke, Małgorzata Zawadzka, Bogdan Brzyski, Zbigniew W. Kaleta, Adam Nawojczyk, Piotrek Polak, Piotr Skiba, Tomasz Wygoda, Krzysztof Zawadzki. The show originally premiered at Kraków's Stary Teatr on February 16, 2008.
For more information on the Kunstenfestivaldesarts, see:
www.kfda.beSource:
www.culturepolonaise.eu