"You don't want apologies, you want blood!", Jordan Tannahill's play resonates in Polish reality. As the physical space of the theater remains dormant, the stage of the Słowacki The ater once again moves to the virtual skies. The first premiere of this year, "Late Visitors," directed by Iwona Kempa, goes live on January 29.
save culture in space
Culture has moved online and is living a new virtual life. Meanwhile, many artists and creators are struggling to survive, and with them entire institutions. A huge threat to the space of institutions such as cinemas and theaters is the fact that, although unused, the buildings still generate costs. Decoration warehouses, rehearsal rooms, stages, cinemas. Although the arts function virtually, culture needs a physical home. Online shows are often cheaper than live tickets, the sales of which enable institutions to exist, paying the rents of their premises, among other things. What if theater and cinema spaces are replaced by discount stores (which, as one of the few potential tenants, are not subject to pandemic restrictions)? The risk exists and we can already observe these transformations in many places in Poland. Signboards of former movie theaters, community centers and theaters are changing to yellowlogos with spotted insects. "Objects That Became Ladybugs," a book published by the Institute of Design in Kielce, talks about this threat, creating a so-called "birutization map. It also reminds us that especially now, in these difficult times, it is worth remembering what an important urban-forming factor studio cinemas, galleries, theaters are.
save space in culture
VOD services have already accustomed us to the home version of cinema. And while we miss the big screen and the atmosphere, the assumptions when producing a film that will go online rather than into theaters are very similar.
Of course, theater intended for the screen, in the form of Television Theater, has been familiar to us for nearly 70 years. Many shows are also available as recordings, edited shots from the stage and from the audience's perspective. But online theater, in which we can attend a performance live, is a form that has gained popularity in pandemic times. The realization of a recording that is directly broadcast through a VOD portal requires the director and set designer to think about the theater space in a whole new way. Live streaming is also an additional challenge for the actors, who are in a sense deprived of a physical audience. In 1:1, the viewer can see the actors on the screen, but they can't see the viewer. How close can we "get" to the actors? From what perspective is the camera eye looking at them? How much decoration in the set design for the screen?
Source: Facebook | J. Slowacki Theater in Krakow
live premiere
This Friday, January 29, 2021, we invite you to the premiere of the play "Late Visitors". The Miniature Stage of the Juliusz Słowacki Theater is part of an Art Nouveau building, a former theater power plant. And for the first time, the Machin House will move to the Internet space. "Late Visit" (English title "Late Company"), is an intriguing yet powerful play by Jordan Tannahill, a Canadian artist highly regarded internationally, but only just being discovered in Poland. It will be directed by Iwona Kempa, who is returning to Słowacki Theater.
Photo Bartek Barczyk © J. Slowacki Theater in Krakow
"You don't want apologies, you want blood".
Do you remember Yasmina Reza's "God of Murder? " Two married couples meet to talk peacefully. But this time, topics will be raised that do not at all inspire jokes. The problems that have quarreled the children of two couples are not only important, but also extremely topical. Exclusion, hejt, suicide will appear on stage. Jordan Tannahill 's text has moved and ignited audience discussions in the West. And in Poland the text of the drama arouses a lot of emotion. How will it resound in the theater in the context of contemporary issues? How does the story resonate in today's reality?
photo Bartek Barczyk © J. Słowacki Theater in Kraków
The director Iwona Kempa is responsible for developing the text by a young Canadian artist, and the music. The set and costumes were created by Joanna Zemanek. On stage we will see Dominika Bednarczyk, Natalia Strzelecka, Maciej Jackowskowski, Marcin Sianko and guest AST students: Aleksander Gałązek and Jakub Suwiński.
Photo Bartek Barczyk © J. Slowacki Theater in Krakow.
Tickets, access link and more information can be found at WWW.TEATRWKRAKOWIE.PL, and here. See you there! Tomorrow virtually, but soon in the spaces of the theater....
