With a touch of Ukraine, or the last day of the Festival – PHOTOREPORT of 15.10.2022

Olga Dukhovnaya, a Ukrainian artist who showed her 'Swan Lake Solo' at the C/U, said that while walking around Warsaw she sometimes wondered where the Poles were, because all she could hear was the sound of her mother tongue... Yes. The colours of Ukraine have become a part of the Polish landscape for good.  They could not be missed at the C/U. The last day of the Festival had several Ukrainian accents.

First was "Every Minute Motherland", a Polish-Ukrainian production of the Maciej Kuźmiński Company. The performance was created as a direct response to the war in Ukraine. The screening was available on a big screen.

Second - there were two shows perfromed in the pompous interiors of the Palace of Culture, a symbol of Soviet domination. These were the aforementioned 'Swan Lake Solo' by Olga Dukhovna, which took its final shape after the Russian aggression on Ukraine, and 'Rebounds' by Anna Steller with music by Ukrainian female rappers.

The third accent was a Portuguese performance-installation by Ana Borralho and Joao Galante, 'World of Interiors', with the participation of Warsaw residents. It was a unique version of the show created especially for the 21st C/U. The texts by the Argentinian director Rodrigo Garcia, which are the core of the original performance, are accompanied by texts by two authors: the Ukrainian artist Anton Ovchinnikov and the Polish performer/choreographer/dancer Rafał Dziemidok. The texts - whispered in Polish, Ukrainian and English - created a multicultural polyphony. The saying "What's up? - It depends where you place your ear" was realised quite literally here. The audience, let in between the lying and whispering perfomers, leaned low over them or lay down next to them in order to hear something. The words they heard, the sentences, formed a different story for everyone...

Before the ''World of Interiors'' there was a meeting with the creators of ''Every Minute Motherland'', ''Swan Lake Solo'' and ''Reflections''. It was hosted by Polina Bulat. The participants were Paul Bargetto*, dramaturg of "Every Minute Motherland", Olga Dukhovnaya and Anna Steller. We recorded the after talk. It is available on our e-Scene (converstaion in English, subtitles not available): After Talk 'Every Minute Motherland', 'Swan Lake Solo' and 'Rebounds' on 15.10.2022.

* International theatre director, festival curator and teacher. For many years he lived and worked in New York, where, among other things, he founded the East River Commedia theatre (1998-2010) and organised the undergroundzero festival (2007-2014). In 2012 he moved to Warsaw, where he currently works with a theatre group called Trans-Atlantic Theatre. He has directed works such as: " Album by Karl Hocker and California" at the Trans-Atlantyk Theatre, Warsaw, "The Gospel of Saint Matthew after Pasolini", at The Living Theatre, or "Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians", "Dwoje biednych Rumunów mówiących po polsku" by Dorota Masłowska, which was staged at the Abrons Arts Center in New York, among others.

Below, 15.10.2022 at C/U photographed by Marta Ankiersztejn.

"Swan Lake Solo"

"Odbcia"/"Rebounds"

After Talk

"World of Interiors"