"The Goethe Institute" at the Festival

The second Festival weekend was opened on Friday, 15 March, when The Jerzy Szaniawski Dramatic Theatre in Wałbrzych presented “The Goethe Institute” – the play directed by Cezary Tomaszewski. 

The spectacle has been inspired by „The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and René Clair’s film „And Then There Were None”. “The Goethe Institute” is a smart mixture of different conventions, not only a pastiche of a crime story or a musical but an ironic interpretation of theatre form and actors’ play in general. It shows a very thin line between irony and seriousness. It is a balance between them that brings about many reflections – about the audience, too. Do we come to the theatre with certain expectations and certain image of the show? What happens when the form surprises us? And what if it is not what we have expected? 

In the play seven people are invited to take part in a secret project at the Goethe Institute situated in the Książ Castle in Waldenburg. When one of them dies mysteriously, the project participants realize that they have been involved in a criminal affair. Unexpected events  and letters by a mysterious Werter arise their fear and curiosity at the same time. Five of them try to find out who (or what) stays behind those criminal situations.      

After the spectacle Łukasz Drewniak talked with its creators. Cezary Tomaszewski said his shows benefit a lot from performance. He noticed also that he was very much interested in the art’s imperfection and the courage to confront it – both in the theatre and in the actors’ work.         

The Jerzy Szaniawski Dramatic Theatre in Wałbrzych
“The Goethe Institute”
Text and dramaturgy: Daria Kubisiak, inspired by „The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and René Clair’s film „And Then There Were None”
Director and choreography: Cezary Tomaszewski
Set design: BRACIA (Maciej Chorąży + Agnieszka Klepacka)
Live music and vocal preparations: Weronika Krówka
Lightning director: Jędrzej Jęcikowski
Make-up: Kacper Rączkowski
Photo/video: Bartek Warzecha
Cast: Sara Celler-Jezierska, Weronika Krówka, Rafał Kosowski, Dariusz Maj, Filip Perkowski, Dariusz Skowroński, Piotr Tokarz