Artykuły

One ought not speak of Krzysztof Warlikowski's play. This on account of its' content being merely an element of the whole. Slabs of glass, the stain of light, gestures, words, music - despite their presence, one cannot escape the impression that the entire spectacle is acted out in silence - that is theater a la Krzysztof Warlikowski. (Pictured to the left is Krzysztof Warlikowski)

"It is not Andrzej Wajda who is the most well known and acclaimed Polish theater director. Nor is it Jerzy Jarocki, Krystian Lupa; nor even the renowned master Erwin Axer. The man who best fits the bill is one who has a knack for successefully marketing even sub-par plays to western audiences. At the same time, the man in question, Krzysztof Warlikowski, never stages performances which are evidently weak. He's never tumbled into that unintented scourge of the burlesque that often befalls his older (Wajda) and younger (the list could run ad nauseam) colleagues. At the age of 42, Krzysztof Warlikowski is, one of his generations most important theatrical directors in the world. He draws vast audiences, despite driving perhaps as many critics insane.

Warlikowski's newest premier - "Krum," prepared by the "Teatr Rozmaitości" - has been hailed as the greatest event of the season. Although the text of Hanoch Levine's play smacks of being asymmetric, Warlikowski managed to make of it a drama that is clear, even robust. Levine's drama tells the story of a humanist nearing the age of 40, who yearns for more in life than mere "security," but is not quite clear as to what that "more" might entail. Out of this "three hour soap opera" Warlikowski and his coworkers - from scenographist Małgorzata Szczęśniak through actors Jacek Poniedziałek, Stanisława Celińska, Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik and Redbad Klynstra, to music composer Paweł Mykietyn - have managed to present a play that is daedal, emotionally engaging and above all wise. This last element is particularly significant for Warlikowski given that he is perhaps the best educated Polish theatrical artist.

"Warlikowski's plays are often so original that they go over the heads of most critics. He is extremely demanding and impatient with us, his actors, because he seems to quickly recognize precisely what he wants from us. Plays and particular characters in them often remain a bit of an open book for him. What makes Warlikowski's work stand out is that it matures, so to speak, in the act," actor Jacek Poniedziałek tells "Wprost."

The Art of Moving Emotions

One ought not speak of Krzysztof Warlikowski's play. This on account of its' content being merely an element of the whole. Slabs of glass, the stain of light, gestures, words, music - despite their presence, one cannot escape the impression that the entire spectacle is acted out in silence - that is theater a la Krzysztof Warlikowski.

Warlikowski always keeps in mind that "theater is of a cognitive nature. Confronted by the characters on the stage, we try to understand something of use to us and it is toward this end that the aesthetic of the performance directs itself, while at the same time never sheathing what is most important - that which moves us and turns our hearing inward, towards ourselves." Warlikowski uncovers for us that most simple and well known mysteriy of the performing arts - that they must engender our emotions.

Successor to Grotowski and Kantor

Warlikowski is more well known than his mentor, Krystian Lupa. He has presented his work at the Avignone festival twice in a row now, and the scandalizing play "Cleansed," (Sarah Kane) won the prestigious French National Union of Theater Critics Award for the best foriegn language performance in the 2002/2003 season. Warlikowski will return to Avignone this year as well - this time with "Krum," which will be performed subsequently in Berlin (during the inauguration of the 'Year of Poland' in Germany).

Last season, the Polish director took "Dybuk" to the New York BAM festival - it was the first Polish performance to grace the festival since Grotowski and Kantor. Warlikowski regularly stages performances in Germany, Italy and Israel. "I don't hide the fact that I have a very foundational education. When I need to immerse myself into something deeper, then naturally I do so. As a general rule, however, what time I have for development, I try and utilizie for dialoguing with my own self," Warlikowski once told my. Pride? Not in the least - it is enough to survey the director's biography. He studied in Krakow's State Higher School For Theater, while also graduating in history, philosophy and romanticism at the Jagiellonski University. Even as a student, he went forth into the world, assisting and working with some of theater's greatest idols: Ingmar Bergman, Peter Brook and Giorgio Strehler.

"Although his is, at times, an alien theatrical aesthetic to my own, he is most certainly an extremely interesting creative talent, impossible to stereotype. Warlikowski already stood out during his studies in Krakow's Higher Theater School. He was the first student who, during my tenure, was allowed to complete his diploma along with the students of the acting department. This demonstrates just how much trust we put into him," said Prof. Jerzy Stuhr, a well known actor and director, who is at once the Dean of the Krakow Higher Theater School.

"Staging performances in different parts of the world, for such vastly different audiences, has resulted in my being a bit of a different person in each of these places. Each time, I must give my audience something different, depending on where they are. It all depends on whether I am in Germany, Italy, or Israel. I always make an effort to understand, with proper depth, who it is that my performance is addressed to." Warlikowski tells 'Wprost."

"Antykabotyn"

One of the secrets to Warlikowski's success is his near surgical recognition of an audience's tastes, a concept understood with some difficulty by other Polish creative talents, who wish to do everything for everyone, thus, in effect nothing for no one. Simplifying theater, playing down to an audience or the megalomania of a Hanuszkiewicz are fundamentally alien concepts to Warlikowski. A secound source of his success are solid theatrical foundations. These principally entail his beloved Shakespeare, who he studied under the beneficent eyes of Giorgio Strehler in the famous Piccolo Theater, in Milan, where he performed "Pericles." Then came "Taming of the Shrew," "Hamlet," "Tempest," "Midsummer Night's Dream," and most recently in Hannover, "Macbeth."

In Warlikowski's version, Hamlet comes to his mother naked and asks about his sexual orientation rather than the world. In "Tempest," Chopin can be heard playing from...a laptop. However, the greatest of scandals surrounded the conclusion of "Midsummer Night's Dream" in Nicee - Rappers enter the scene, to proclaim in their own, shall we call it, 'special' way, that theater is for metropolitan dregs, old people and nerds. The audience was so taken aback that they...simply left in mid-performance. And no wonder, the kinder, gentler theater of the sober classes, which could be seemlessly transfered to general television, has about as much to do with Warlikowski's way of presenting theater as a carnation has to do with a cactus.

However, Warlikowski is not bent on scandal for scandal's sake. He quests, he inflames, he prods, but he never forces. This becomes evident when one considers the rather belicous and vulgar cry for love that is Sarah Kane's "Cleansed" - in Warlikowski's vision, the performance remains equally wise and moving, magically presented, hypnotically played by his actors. On the other hand, we have the extraordinary "Dybuk," a classic of Jewish theater combined with a tale by Hanna Krall.