“Stateswomen, Sluts of Revolution, or the Learned Ladies”

On Sunday 12 March we presented another play of the 23^rd edition of International Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant. This time it was “Stateswomen, Sluts of Revolution, or the Learned Ladies” – the spectacle produced by the Hieronim Konieczka Polish Theatre in Bydgoszcz and directed by Wiktor Rubin. It was not easy to get even the standing entrance tickets but eventually everybody succeeded. Thank you for your presence.

The spectacle's authors were inspired by Théroigne de Méricourt, a feminist activist of the French Revolution who fought for women citizens' rights, and who – finally – was „rewarded” with lynching and the perpetrators were women. History described her bravery and engagement as insanity and political fanaticism. For the authors her activities became a starting point for deliberations on the sense of revolutions in a modern world. Is radicalism an effective method of changing the world? Does any revolution make sense nowadays?

After the performance there was a meeting with its authors. The meeting was moderated by Łukasz Drewniak. Wiktor Rubin pointed out that it was a man who had directed the play that was devoted to the conflict between women and patriarchal social scheme. This was a collision but at the same time an interesting experiment that gave more meaning to the spectacle. The artists told about their work on the play – they noticed that the text by Jolanta Janiczak had been formed during rehearsals, as a result of conversations, polemics and actors' improvisations. The spectators talked about an interactive form of the show which assumed different reactions of the viewers. Wiktor Rubin stressed that the form did not assess the spectator's reaction. It really did not matter whether the viewer was “for” the revolution, against it or neutral – he was still an observer. Different reactions showed different views of the society.

Jolanta Janiczak

“Stateswomen, Sluts of Revolution, or the Learned Ladies”

Director: Wiktor Rubin

Set design: Michał Korchowiec

Music: Krzysztof Kaliski

Costumes, video: Hanna Maciąg

Cast: Beata Bandurska, Magdalena Celmer, Martyna Peszko, Sonia Roszczuk, Małgorzata Trofimiuk, Małgorzata Witkowska, Mirosław Guzowski, Roland Nowak, Maciej Pesta, Marcin Zawodziński

Photo Kasia Bąba