PAST PROJECTS
CHESSLAUGH MEWASH
POLISH THEATRE IRELAND LIFT THE MASK ON NOBEL PRIZE WINNING POET Czesław Miłosz AT ABSOLUT FRINGE
POLISH THEATRE IRELAND PRESENT
CHESSLAUGH MEWASH
At Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
A devised performance based on the work of Czesław Miłosz.
20 -24 September
The Lir Theatre, Dublin 2
From Tidings by Czesław Miłosz.
Or we may say otherwise: that we lived in a golden fleece,
In a rainbow net, in a cloud cocoon
Suspended from the branch of a galactic tree.
And our net was woven from the stuff of signs,
Hieroglyphs for the eye and ear, amorous rings.
A sound reverberated inward, sculpturing our time,
The flicker, flutter, twitter of our language.
Chesslaugh Mewash is how to pronounce the name of Polish poet Czesław Miłosz.
Reveal the sham. Lift the mask. The writing’s on the wall. On your wall and her wall, his wall and their wall – on all the walls on all the profiles in all the networks in all the world in every language in every tongue in every pic in every pixel, digitised, superficial celebs are we. In falsehood, fact and friendship we roll and move and shake to the words of a troubled Polish poet and try to figure out who gives a tweet about us in 140 characters or less.
A century after his birth, the work of this sensual and troubled poet still resonates with readers throughout the world. Inspired by a selection of his poems from the 1960s when he was teaching in the famous hippy college of Berkeley in San Francisco, Polish Theatre Ireland take you on a theatrical journey through the modern day world of social networks and self branding and explore the identity of an individual in a vastly changing social world and the masks we wear to fit in to a world based on big dreams and fear.
Crossing language barriers and human constraints of culture pertaining to national pride, the performance alludes to the ways in which we communicate with our peers and with the masses and how we can be in touch with so many people yet feel quite alone in the world.
2011 is the year of Polish Nobel prize-winning poet Czesław Miłosz. Polish Theatre Ireland want to celebrate the poetic universality a man living life through masks of different culture and changing times. In English, Polish, Irish and Lithuanian this will be a visual and aural wandering through the mind of a genius of and before his time, this celebration of Miłosz and of the human condition in our confusing times is heart rending, funny, false and full of truth.
SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
Ireland’s only Polish Theatre company present their first play ‘Scent of Chocolate’ in Focus Theatre this September
Polish Theatre Ireland present
Performances in English & Polish of
A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
A Play by Radoslaw Paczocha
Translated and adapted by Anna Wolf
Directed by Anna Wolf
Monday 27th September – Saturday 2nd October 2010
8pm (2pm Matinee on Sat 2nd Oct)
Focus Theatre
6 Pembroke Place, Off Pembroke Street, Dublin 2
Tickets: €16/13/10
Book: 087 2744125 or visit www.focustheatre.ie
“Paczocha’s text is not only the successful attempt of fighting with difficult reality, but it is also a proof of author’s excellent technical skills in building the course of events, dialogues and theatrical metaphor” Gazeta Wyborcza – Trojmiasto
Enter into 13 year-old Misza’s world where elephants are gods and chocolate reigns supreme. Join him and his sisters as they tackle the broken family left them by their emigrant mother. Experience the effects of separation, distance and the imagination of a boy living in his own world on a small family unit and we watch as the lines of communication between them fall further apart in this heart-warming, surreal drama.
Scent of Chocolate is written by award winning contemporary playwright Radoslaw Paczocha and has been adapted for both stage and radio, however this is the first time it will be performed on stage. This translation and adaptation by Dublin based Polish director Anna Wolf in her début play for Polish Theatre Ireland is a unique theatrical experience that will transport audiences into an abstract world and a new mode of theatre.
Polish Theatre Ireland was formed in 2008 as a response to the growing number of Polish actors based in Dublin and the need for a platform to showcase Polish dramatic culture. This is their first play to be produced and shown in Ireland and is the beginning of what will be an interesting journey for Polish theatre in Ireland.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
English Performances
Tuesday 28th September, 8pm – Opening Night in English
Thursday 30th September, 8pm
Saturday 2nd October, 8pm – with post show discussion with writer Radoslaw Paczocha
Polish Performances
Wednesday 29th September, 8pm – Opening Night in Polish
Friday 1st October, 8pm – with post show discussion with writer Radoslaw Paczocha
Saturday 2nd October 2pm – matinee show in Polish
BOOKING INFORMATION
Focus Theatre
6 Pembroke Place, Off Pembroke Street, Dublin 2
Tickets: €16/13/10
Book: 087 2744125 or visit www.focustheatre.ie
Cast:
Kasia Lech- Bogusia
John Currivan – Misza
Jacek Dusznik- Father
Oscar Mienandi- Mike
Alicja Jankowska- Natalka
Voiceover work – Declan McGauran and Agata Kaputa
Director:
Anna Wolf
Assistant Director
Anka Wysota
Writer:
Radoslaw Paczocha
Producer/ PR and Marketing:
Helen McNulty
FOR MEDIA INFORMATION/ BIOGS/ IMAGES PLEASE CONTACT
Helen McNulty | 087 986 2638 | helenmcnultyart@gmail.com
Or
Anna Wolf | 086 775 7795 | awoolfey@gmail.com
IMAGES FROM REHEARSALS
all images by maciej staroniewicz – see more of his work at www.maciejstaroniewicz.com
NATALKA & MISZA
Mike and Natalka
Written by contemporary Polish playwright Radoslaw Paczocha, the play ‘Scent of Chocolate’ focuses on a family disconnected by distance, as the mother of Bogusia, Natalka, and Misza lives and works in America to better the lives of her children in Poland. The focus is on the youngest boy, the mentally retarded Misza, who lives in his own world consisting of an equal passion for chocolate and documentaries about elephants, who seem to be able to communicate better than humans in the play. The questions of love and family obligation are raised, towards a very needy sibling and an absent mother in an eternal waiting game. Scent of Chocolate examines the breakdown in communication in a small family unit and is a heartwarming, yet sad representation of the reality facing many families who have experienced an absent emigrant parent.
Cast and Crew at Scent of Chocolate showcase 27th March 2010
Scent Of Chocolate from Anna Wolf on Vimeo.
Our first project called “Symphony Blockatoris” will be a story about Polish local community settled in blocks of flats. It aims to show Irish audiences how Polish mentality and national Polish identity face contemporary Polish reality and how much it is rooted in communism past. We also intend to celebrate oncoming anniversary of Collapse of Communism 1989 and on this occasion we plan to organize number of various discussions regarding to it .
“Symphony Blockatoris”, the play, is set in a block of flats and explores the relationship between the main character ‘Myself’ and the people encountered along his journey of self discovery, in an amnesia filled world and an environment which seems strange to him. The main themes of the play are rediscovery of identity, overcoming alienation and suspicion, and the art of crafting the ‘self’ when the protagonist dwells on the periphery of his own national/ tribal boundaries.
Seven Polish actors will be employed in the production which will be performed in the Polish language with English Supertitles / audio transcription provided for non-Polish speaking audience members. Director Emilia Sadowska will be with us for 3 weeks for rehearsals and for the performance.
