| Caesarean Section: Essays on Suicide |
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Performance by Teatr ZAR Thu-Sun 10–13 April 2014, 9pm Laboratory Theatre Space Admission: 20 PLN Bookings and tickets: sekretariat@grotowski-institute.art.pl Tel. 71 34 45 320 Online tickets The title of the performance is a metaphor for suicidal compulsion and the involuntary force that pulls us back from the brink. It is about the potential of the necessary ability to prolong one′s breathing at the moment when one feels in the veins the pieces of glass that haven′t yet managed to reach the heart. Caesarean Section′s musical structure was developed from a base of polyphonic Corsican songs, into which Bulgarian, Romanian, Icelandic and Chechen songs were woven. Its subtle power and energy owes a debt to composer Eric Satie and his discovery of the intensity that can be transmitted by each and every drop of sound. Through contact with and integration into this contemporary theatre piece the traditional musical material becomes transformed and taken on a new form, becoming seamlessly interwoven with intensive movement by the performers. ZAR also acknowledges the great literary influence of Aglaya Veteranyi on this work. During the research process, members of ZAR made several trips to Corsica in search of new material for the emerging musical score. Their active participation in paschal liturgy in Tox near Bastia represented a pivotal moment. Therefore the climax of the performance is characterised by the liturgical music of Corsican confraternities. While the score′s basic ‘tectonics’ are grounded in Corsican music, they have been interwoven by Bulgarian cries, calls and incantations to enhance the musical dramaturgy. The first special presentation of the project took place in May 2007 in Florence as part of the Fabbrica Europa festival, at the invitation of Roberto Bacci. The performance premiered in December 2007 in the Grotowski Institute, Wroc³aw. Performance shown at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh in August 2012 was presented with the prestigious Total Theatre Award in the category Physical/Visual Theatre and Herald Angel Award.  Women: Kamila Klamut / Dite Berkeley Man: Matej Matejka And Nini Julia Bang, Alessandro Curti, Jaros³aw Fret, Aleksandra Kotecka, Ewa Pasikowska, Orest Sharak, Tomasz Wierzbowski Project leader: Jaros³aw Fret Music collaboration: Mariana Sadovska Collaboration on the movement score: Vivien Wood Lighting: Bartosz Radziszewski We dedicate this performance to: The Force of Gravitation Our Throats Wise Bridesmaids Foolish Bridesmaids All the Lukewarm Zygmunt Duczyñski Cultivating an ethos of ensemble work, Teatr ZAR develops productions through a long process of creating its own theatrical language, which draws on music from numerous traditions found in the East and West. The company is a multinational group that was formed during annual research expeditions to Georgia between 1999 and 2003. During these expeditions, they collected a wealth of musical material, including a core of centuries-old polyphonic songs that have their roots in the beginning of the human era and are probably the oldest forms of polyphony in the world. Zar is a name of funeral songs performed by the Svaneti tribe who inhabit the high regions of the Caucasus in north-west Georgia. Teatr ZAR attempts to demonstrate that theatre does not only relate to thea (Greek seeing) but it is something that above all should be heard. ZAR brings back theatre as it was before art ruptured into different disciplines and styles. Its work addresses themes that, in the contemporary world, seem to be reserved only for the religious domain. It comes from conviction, influenced by Polish Romantic ideas, that art is not only complementary to religion but can fill the dynamic chasm between the everyday and transcendent life. Juliusz Osterwa, one of the greatest figures of 20th-century Polish theatre who tried to put these ideas into practice – and one whose ideas had a great impact on Jerzy Grotowski – once wrote: “God created theatre for those for whom the church does not suffice”. The Gospels of Childhood triptych was premiered in 2009. Currently the company is working on the new project Armine, Sister, dedicated to Armenian culture and realised through expeditions and studies of Armenian tradition and history. The new performance was premiered on 28 November 2013 at the Na Grobli Studio of the Grotowski Institute in Wroc³aw. More information: www.teatrzar.art.pl As part of BodyConstitution, practical seminar |