Tuesday was magical. Five performances, including a boundary-pushing by one actress and a musical about poverty. Come to the festival, let yourself be surprised.

10th of December, Tuesday, fifth day of the Divine Comedy festival in Krakow.

At 5 p.m. at the National Stary Theatre took place a screening of the play "The Story of Sin" directed by Wojtek Rodak. At 7 p.m. the audience could have a dilemma about what to choose. Three performances were played simultaneously: "null & void" directed by Agata Siniarska at Cricoteka, "Antigone in Molenbeek" directed by Anna Smolar on the stage of the MOS Theater. Juliusz Słowacki and "Wyrwa" directed by Barbara Bendyk at the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre. The day concluded with a performance of "The Paper Man. An Anti-Opera on Credit" directed by Jakub Skrzywanek at the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre, followed by a discussion with the director.

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute organized a lunch at 1 pm at Bunkier Sztuki, mostly for journalists, curators, producers and international festival guests. The aim was to discuss the richness of Polish culture and the phenomenon of Polish theatre over a good meal. Bravo to the Institute! No one promotes Polish directors and actors abroad as consistently as they do throughout the year, not just on special occasions.

A performance that Kantor would have liked

In this short report from Tuesday, I would like to focus on two performances because of their form. I want to refer to "null & void" directed by Agata Siniarska at Cricoteka and "Man of Paper”. "An Anti-Opera on Credit" directed by Jakub Skrzywanek at the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre. The choreographer and dancer, in an almost hour-long solo performance, demonstrated  how body can be used as an instrument of performance. It was a hypnotizing experience for the audience. The highest level of acting. This performance would have been appreciated by Tadeusz Kantor. Agata Siniarska paid a worthy homage to the legacy of Tadeusz Kantor and his actors. I could say that, thanks to Agata, we found ourselves on the front lines near Donbas, but I won’t reveal anything. If you have the chance to see 'null & void' and are not afraid of boundary-pushing challenges, meeting Agata will be a revelatory experience for you.

The patron of my relationship may be a developer (just kidding)

"The Paper Man. An Anti-Opera on Credit" directed by Jakub Skrzywanek seemed to me like a musical reverse of the story of Poland's success told in Katarzyna Szyngiera's musical "1989", almost like its complement. We could read from Szyngiera's musical; “We, Poles, managed to do it. The history of Poland is also a history of successes”. In Skrzywanek's musical, there are mocking tones, sometimes humorous, but more often pessimistic; "Wait, wait, those who succeeded, succeeded, but there are many excluded. Illegal evictions are taking place, the settlements of Romanian Roma are being cleared in Wrocław, young Poles can't afford to buy their first apartment  and workers are receiving really low wages." Developers rule the country. 

Officials and politicians want a "safe" theatre and it is best if it is not politically involved, a trouble-free theater. Particularly, young people should see this spectacle. Finally, someone on stage speaks on their behalf, in their voice. "Do you have an extra studio apartment?", "Be a man and buy an apartment.", "We hope you're having a bad time."

Grzegorz Nurek

---

Photo by Dawid Ścigalski