Photo: Emiliano Pellisari.
On 21?28 February 2015 Kraków?s Teatr Groteska is hosting Materia Prima ? the 3rd International Festival of the Form Theatre. Cultural Poles. The event will embrace dance theatre, visual theatre, theatre of puppets and shadows, and new circus from best-known directors and choreographers. Kraków will welcome twelve award-winning theatre companies hailing form France, Israel, Germany, Norway, Russia, and Italy, most of them coming to Poland for the first time. The famous Carte Blanche, the Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance will showcase their brand new piece Edvard, directed by Marcos Morau, which has just premiered in Norway. Emiliano Pellisari will treat Polish audiences to a very plastic work in which Dante?s Divine Comedy is rendered by performers dancing in mid-air, while France’s Compagnie 111 ?Aurélien Bory will serve us a real feast of acrobatic skill. Unlike these artists, who are a novelty for Polish audiences, the famous Compagnie Philippe Genty comes back to Kraków after the incredible success of their act at the first edition of the festival. In Forget me not the extraordinary director and visionary of visual theatre will conjure up a fantastic world of an arctic odyssey.
“Aesthetic experience ? the experience of the beauty of the world and art ? is humans’ ability and privilege. It is something that makes us different from other living creatures. The festival’s programme offers a host of such experiences. It is also our way of expressing respect for artists who seek to go beyond the limits set by their bodies, who continually aim for technical perfection, who aim for virtuosity. Materia Prima is also our way of standing up to the ostentatious ugliness that dominates in the majority of theatre productions today. We offer you a relief from the ideological and aesthetic nightmares of everyday life and art.”
? Adolf Weltschek, Director of Materia Prima
“We leave our audience the freedom of interpretation. The pieces we present tackle important issues, yet they use symbolic imagery. We want to take you on a journey into the world of dreams ? dreamt by the artists but infiltrating the audience’s subconsciousness. They are like poetry or paintings that come alive onstage: a kaleidoscope of shapes and colours. Just surrender to the process and follow the imagery: you will end up amazed, exploding with emotions, experiencing a catharsis.”
? Zuzanna Głowacka, Head of Programming, Materia Prima
Apart from watching performances, the audience will be able to learn more about the theatre of the form in Poland and abroad, participating in meetings with artists, talks, debates, film screenings, and an exhibition. Polish traditions will be explored during a whole-day academic seminar on The Theatre of the Form in the Works of Tadeusz Kantor, Józef Szajna, and Jerzy Grotowski, to be held on Monday, 23 February, at Teatr Groteska. Admission free.
The festival is organised by Teatr Groteska.
Venues:
Teatr Groteska, ul. Skarbowa 2,
Małopolski Ogród Sztuki, ul. Rajska 12,
Nowohuckie Centrum Kultury, al. Jana Pawła II 232,
Teatr Ludowy, osiedle Teatralne 34,
Studio Telewizyjne S3 w Łęgu ? Ośrodek Telewizji Kraków.
The programme of the festival is available on www.materiaprima.pl.
You may also find information on individual acts under “Events” on our website, which is the festival’s patron.
Tickets may be bought at Teatr Groteska’s box office or on www.materiaprima.pl.
Materia Prima ?3rd International Festival of the Form Theatre. Cultural Poles is supported by the EEA grants provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, as well as domestic funding.
