The finale of the first edition of The Play City, a project by Bolesławiecki Ośrodek Kultury, took place on Friday, May 16. During the Open-Air Review of Amateur Theatre Groups, residents of Bolesławiec had the opportunity to see seven presentations.
The review opened with a fireshow by the Chimera fire group. The dancers presented a performance in which fire played the main role. Because of the rain, the presentation took place in the tunnel on Kutuzowa Street.
At 7:00 p.m., Zpitowcy performed at the Bolesławiec viaduct. The group danced to music by Piotr Rubik.
The presentation was based on contrast—folk dancing in a meadow, right next to Bolesławiec’s busy bypass. The performance attracted enormous interest from the audience. People passing through our city stopped their cars in a nearby parking lot out of curiosity. In this way, Italians and Spaniards also had the opportunity to see the Zpitowcy happening.
At around 8:30 p.m., on the steps near Piłsudskiego Square, Łukasz “Luka” Ludwikowski presented the monodrama “from the series postmodern musings on the existential nature.”
At 9:00 p.m., a performance of the unconventional dance piece “Salome of Modernity,” performed by Joanna Bednarczyk, took place in Bolesławiec’s market square. The dancer put the audience into a trance. “It was beautiful,” says Agnieszka Kisielowska, an instructor at Bolesławiecki Ośrodek Kultury and the originator of The Play City project. In her view, Joanna Bednarczyk revealed great talent.
The next item in the review was the premiere performance by OFFensywa, a group formed during The Play City workshops. The presentation “About the One Who Decided to (Get) Up” began in the market square at 10:00 p.m. Its creators depicted people who lose themselves in the routine of everyday responsibilities. As if hypnotized, they follow the same paths to work and forget what is truly important. They slowly die while still alive. Sometimes, however, they find the strength within themselves to awaken.
“We wanted to say something important. That is what theatre is for—to talk about important matters,” Agnieszka Kisielowska explains. It was no coincidence that two tables were placed in the market square during the presentation; they were intended to symbolize community and human bonds. “We wanted to show people resisting mental gravity. We are interested in that force within a person that allows them to get up,” the instructor adds.
At around 10:30 p.m., the Orange Pub hosted the presentation “Theatre of Two Worlds,” performed by offSet – Grupa trzymającej władzę & friends. The authors intended the mini-performance to be a “living vernissage.” The musical accompaniment was provided by musicians from the bands Instytut and Cold.
– Do you love me? – she asks.
– I can adapt – he replies.
These words were spoken during the presentation “Sceny łuszkofe,” performed by Pokojowy Roman (Kinga Pokojowy and Grzegorz Roman). “The entire performance was about relations between women and men,” Grzegorz Roman told the IstotneInformacje.pl portal. There was a seduction scene and a sexual initiation scene. The young actors superbly portrayed the blossoming of a relationship and its gradual agony.
The premiere performance was deliberately staged in the square by the Old Theatre. Kinga Pokojowy and Grzegorz Roman come from the Tygrys Ogłuszony Domem group. “That group no longer exists,” the actor noted. He added that it had fallen apart after a construction supervision inspector closed the building because of its disastrous technical condition.
As it turned out, the jury (comprising Urszula Frąszczak-Matyjewicz, Radosław Gajewski and Dariusz Miliński) decided to honor this very last presentation with the review’s main prize. “We were captivated by its professionalism. This performance was in a class of its own compared with the rest,” admits Radosław Gajewski. “It was the best offering, carefully thought through from beginning to end,” adds Urszula Frąszczak-Matyjewicz.
The Pokojowy Roman duo will receive PLN 2,000. Grzegorz announces that he and Kinga will invest the money in props that will be useful in future performances. The actors are considering buying stilts, juggling balls and a projector.
The Play City
According to Agnieszka Kisielowska, the fact that this review took place in Bolesławiec is a major success, and the response generated by The Play City project allows its organizers to look to the future with hope. “I want to show so many faces of theatre that everyone can find something for themselves,” the instructor says. The second edition of The Play City will probably begin later this year.
(GA report)