In Act 1 my intention was to reconstruct on a stage a Roma squatting site brutally demolished as a result of the councilors’ decision. While working on this project, my thoughts often revolved around temporary shelters: refugee camps (such as the Jungle in Callais), slums in different parts of the world, where generational people live in unsustainable and temporary conditions that can hardly be called home. What does the slogan of architectural sustainability mean today in a situation of mass migration of refugees, whether due to climate or war?
The scenography of Act 3 is a tulle cube representing the characters’ apartment. A house is simply a cube of air defined by its square footage. In our case, even the walls are transparent and conventional, offering neither shelter nor privacy. I wanted to express the ephemerality and fragility of the idea of an apartment. Inside the room there is white toy furniture as if printed on a 3D printer. The furniture is not real, but the human living situations are.
An important element of the staging is the massive curtain, which appears in Act 2 of the play as a wow effect. The curtain is made up of dozens of life-saving blankets – NRC film – often used to keep the injured warm, but also to give warmth to refugees. Because it is cheap, it is easily available. Already in our camp, one “house” is entirely covered with gold foil. This gold resonates ironically among the poverty and dirt of the nomadic camp. The purpose of this gesture is to demonstrate the capitalization of poverty and transform it into something attractive, as a stage backdrop for a colorful musical.
Man of Paper. An anti-opera made on credit
Cast:
Karolina Adamczyk
Klara Bielawka
Arkadiusz Brykalski
Michał Czachor
Anna Ilczuk,
Andrzej Kłak
Olga Rusin
Ewa Skibińska
Oskar Stoczyński
Ralph Kaminski
Cezary Studniak
Julia Wieniawa
Theatre company: Powszechny Teatre in Warsaw, Stage Songs Review (PPA) in Wrocław.
Month & year of production: March 2024
Set & light designer : Agata Skwarczyńska
Other Designers:
Director – Jakub Skrzywanek
Music: Karol Nepelski
Lyrics: Jaś Kapela
Choreography – Agnieszka Kryst
Costume designer – Tomasz Armada
Dramaturg: Piotr Grzymisławski
Video: Artur Sienicki
Stage manager: Bazhena Shamovich
Photo: Magda Hueckel, Marek Maziarz
