The French
Ewa Dałkowska, Magdalena Cielecka, Bartosz Gelner, Wojciech Kalarus, Marek Kalita, Zygmunt Malanowicz, Maja Ostaszewska, Piotr Polak, Jacek Poniedziałek, Macie Stuhr, Agata Buzek, Magdalena Popławska
The French is Krzysztof Warlikowski's latest theatrical expedition in search of the roots of present-day European mentality and identity.
Its starting point is Marcel Proust's monumental novel, In Search of Lost Time, which depicts a society in upheaval, shaken by the erosion of the old hierarchy, rampant antisemitism, and, above all, by the outbreak of the Great War. Channeling Gilles Deleuze's remark that 'the only dead who return are those whom one has buried too quickly and too deeply,' Warlikowski invokes Proust to reflect on the condition of today's Europe, ironically encapsulated by the French people of a hundred years ago, which explains the play's thought-provoking title.
Doing justice to Proust's vision of various times that exist in parallel, and his efforts to convey the complexities of time will require the creation of parallel situations. The intention is not to produce an on-stage equivalent of the novel, but to find a parallel world, a structure through which our period can be passed as if through the needle's eye of Proust's critical gaze, keeping his clarity of vision and brilliant wit. Immersed in non-linear time, one can examine Proust's radical image in the ideal setting of the theatre, with all its social and spiritual energy. This is a major European theatre project with performance, video, dance and live music.
script: Piotr Gruszczyński
set and costume design: Małgorzata Szczęśniak
music: Jan Duszyński
lighting: Felice Ross
choreography: Claude Bardouil
video: Denis Gueguin
animation: Kamil Polak
additional script: Adam Radecki
makeup and hair: Monika Kaleta
stage manager and cameraman: Łukasz Jóźków
masks: Zofia Remiszewska
sculpture: Dominik Dlouhy, Piotr Grzegorek
This performance will be presented in Polish. Performances tagged English-friendly feature English surtitles. Some dates feature additional accessibility and language accomodations—check the venue's website to learn more.