“Mothers. Songs for Wartime”, a play that has been a hit at festivals all over Europe for a year, is finally coming to the Divine Comedy. Andrzej Stasiuk will be running a collection for Ukraine before and after the performances. There will be two performances, on 5 and 6 December on the stage of the National Stary Theatre.

Foreign media have hailed “Mothers...” as an absolutely groundbreaking event (“Marta Górnicka’s miraculous weapon against war”), going beyond theatrical experience (“A choral story about the power of an individual, which tells of dark violence and ends with bright humanity”). The play is being received with emotion and a sense of solidarity – but also with bitter reflection on the policy of Western countries towards Russia – wherever it is presented. Now, thanks to the Divine Comedy, it can also be seen in Krakow.

“Our play talks about women and war. About defence mechanisms, about responsibility. About our reaction to the war in Europe. About rituals of war violence against women and civilians, which are still the same”. This is how Marta Górnicka, the creator of the Women’s Choir, describes her performance. This time, she has prepared a choral performance in response to the events beyond our eastern border. It is created by 21 women from Poland, Ukraine and Belarus, who sing and chant together to tell the dramatic stories of mothers and children from Mariupol, Irpin, Kiev and Kharkiv, refugees from war and political persecution, and those who opened their homes to them in Poland. The search for a post-operatic voice of women directly refers to antiquity, while at the same time being a communal experience of a poignant nature. The director asks universal questions about war rituals of violence against women, which have remained essentially unchanged for centuries, but in our times are taking on even more cruel forms. “When Ukraine screams, we need practices that predate the birth of theatre, which the CHORUS brings. We need theatre with its power to change”.

Fundraising for Ukraine before and after both Krakow performances will be led by Andrzej Stasiuk on behalf of the Linia Frontu Foundation.

Shows: December 5, 5:30 p.m. and December 6, 5:00 p.m. on the Main Stage of the National Old Theatre 

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Photo: Bartek Warzecha