Battle of Warsaw 1920
On Friday (21 March) night, on the Big Stage of Powszechny Theatre we saw another play in the XX International Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant. This time it was “Battle of Warsaw 1920” presented by National Old Theatre from Cracow.
The play by the duet Monika Strzępka/Paweł Demirski asks questions on present-day independent Poland, its condition as well as the condition of its elite and leaders against a background of the so-called Miracle at the Vistula. However, the battle of Warsaw when Poles stopped the Red Army marching West is only a starting point, a metaphor for the present-day situation.
In the play we see incarnations of famous historical figures such as Józef Piłsudski, Wincenty Witos, Władysław Broniewski, Róża Luksemburg, Feliks Dzierzyński. Apart from famous politicians there appear ordinary people – an actress, legionaries, peasants. This confrontation also de-mythologizes past heroes – fathers of Polish victory over the Bolsheviks.
There is a discussion on the stage between the right and the left, the opinions clash – the discussion is valid both 100 years ago and today. But Strzępka and Demirski do not say a priori who is right. They make us think of what has changed and whether we has drawn any conclusions, if at all. This is the battle of the present.
The play was received with applause. After the show there was a meeting with the actors, moderated by Łukasz Drewniak. The actors told the spectators about their work with Monika Strzępka and Paweł Demirski, about the rehearsals and preparations for the performance. They underlined the value of the cooperation where the roles are written for specific actors and they take into consideration the actors’ personality and individuality. The actors who worked with the duet for the first time said the structure of the play was strange at the beginning as it is not linear and the lines between time, place and characters are unsettled, sometimes even imperceptible.
Krzysztof Globisz spoke about the actors’ perception nowadays. He noticed that an actor is a good professional only when he feels the role and realizes it the best he can. There are no private opinions, personal dislikes or inclinations in the profession. He said that while on stage the actor does not present his own views. He also said that the theatrical art as well as theatre’s aesthetics have been changing lately.
