Polish focus

The focus of this year’s Festival is dedicated to contemporary Polish plays and theatre. The Festival book collection Contemporary European Drama has a new publication Contemporary Polish Drama (edited by Alja Predan) which features four contemporary Polish dramatic works: Trash Story, How To Be Loved, The Rainbow Stand 2012 and The Suitcase.

The programme for Friday, 16 October 2015, begins at 10am with a presentation of the book and the Polish Theatre Institute and an introductory lecture by Agata Adamiecka. Following will be a screening of the production of Magnificat performed by the group Chór Kobieta as well as a staged reading of The Rainbow Stand 2012 by Paweł Demirski and a talk with Igor Stokfiszewski and the translator Jana Unuk. Witold Mrozek will moderate the talk. At 3.30pm there will be a screening of the Polish production of The Suitcase and a talk with the author Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk and the translator Darja Dominkuš, moderated by Joanna Biernacka.

The Polish Focus will continue on Saturday, 17 October, at noon with a staged reading of the play How To Be Loved and a talk with the author Agnieszka Jakimiak and the translator Tatjana Jamnik, moderated by Agata Adamiecka. At 3.30pm there will be a screeing of the Polish production of Trash Story and a talk with the author Magda Fertacz and the translator Tatjana Jamnik. The talk will be moderated by Joanna Biernacka.

On Sunday, 18 October, at 3.30pm there will be a round table discussion on institutional models of theatre and their political and aesthetic dimensions. The participants will include the international experts Alina Gałąska, PhD (Komuna// Warszawa), Diana Koloini, Goran Injac and Agata Adamiecka. The discussion will be moderated by Witold Mrozek.

The programme of the Polish Focus will take place on Small Stage of the Slovene National Theatre Maribor and will have simultaneous translation into Slovenian.

Two Polish performances will also be featured within the frame of the Polish Focus: Forefathers’ Eve (17 October at 9pm on the Tribune on the Grand Stage; a talk on the performance will be on 18 October at 12pm at Vetrinj mansion) and Paradise Now? Re//Mix Living Theatre (18 October at 6pm in Maribor Puppet Theatre).