It is a music-theatre project which includes both a concert and a monodrama. It is inspired by the work of P.J. Harvey, a British singer, and by the diary of Virginia Wolf. The artistic project was based on the artworks of both artists. The performance is an in-depth analysis of female psyche. The motif of water is a common reference point for the works of Wolf and Harvey. The motif causes a special tension between the symbols of the purification and innocence of a pubescent girl in “By the river”. A snow white costume is a corset with a white tied shirt. Various words are written on it. Those can be cultural signs which we acquire at the moment of birth and when maturing.
A gigantic aquarium, a cuboid full of water forms the scenography and it is an instrument of the main character at the same time. At one moment it is a source of sounds, which refer to the natural powers that are very close to the female nature. On some other time it becomes a place which the main heroine fears to enter looking at it both with fear and interest when standing on the edge. It reminds us of a suicidal attempt. Yet another time the cube becomes a place of infantile games. In this way, the beauty of human development from a joyful child to a sultry woman is exposed.
By the River
Actor:
Karolina Adamczyk
Company : Polish Theatre in Bydgoszcz, PPA Festival of Actor’s Song
Month and year of production: 27th of March 2012
Concept: Agata Skwarczyńska
Performance design: Agata Skwarczyńska
Other designers:
Concept: Aneta Jankowska, Karolina Adamczyk
Music: Mikołaj Trzaska
Choreographer: Aneta Jankowska
Sound space: Maciej Szymborski
Video: Paulina Stranz
Photo: Paulina Stranz
