Katarzyna Minkowska is one of the most indefatigable directors of the young generation. In just a few years since her début, she has created both critically acclaimed and award-winning novel adaptations (Cudzoziemka / The Stranger, Mój rok relaksu i odpoczynku / My Year of Rest and Relaxation) as well as compelling productions based on dramatic texts (Kiedy stopnieje śnieg / When the Snow Melts, Burza. Regulamin wyspy / The Tempest. Island Regulations). Combination of the characters’ penetrating psychological portraits with innovative narrative and staging strategies are characteristic of her work, and strongly present in Sceny z życia małżeńskiego / Scenes from a Marriage, a production that has enjoyed unwavering popularity among Kraków audiences since its premiere.

At the National Stary Theatre in Kraków, Minkowska has staged Scenes from a Marriage based on Ingmar Bergman’s television series, recently adapted for the screen once again. In the Kraków production, the roles of Marianne and Johan are played by Magda Grąziowska and Szymon Czacki. In Małgorzata Maciejewska’s adaptation, their relationship remains under profound influence of social media. Not only by dating apps that facilitate new connections but also platforms that reduce such connections to a model that reduces you to a synthesis of an appealing photo and a succinct caption. The director and dramaturg are interested in such platforms as Instagram, which today serve as channels for spreading often pseudo-psychological advice on relationships, personality types, and attachment styles. Yet this is not the only innovation in relation to Bergman’s script. Maciejewska and Minkowska introduce to stage couples of different ages and life stages, turning the play into not just a study of a complex and passionate relationship, but also a sociological exploration of cohabitation, with its roots in social norms and patterns, its dependence on technology, and the everyday problems and conditions that shape it.

---

Many scenes unfold simultaneously on stage and on screen, which some viewers may perceive as sensory overstimulation. 

---

Photo by HaWa