"A sweet tooth for Song and Music:" The Pope's "Polish Sin"
The late Pope John Paul II once remarked of himself: "I have a sweet tooth for song and music. This is my Polish sin." Apparently his countrymen are not too zealous about following the Pope on this point, as the postponement of the comedy "The Holy Father's Skis" serves to demonstrate.
"The Holy Father's Skis," a play taken off of the "Teatr Narodowy" repertoire following the death of the Pope, will most likely resume in the coming theater season, according to information passed on from Theater director Jan Englert to the Polish Press Agency (PAP). The play will not feature in the rerpertoire for the remainder of this season.
"The Holy Father's Skis" premiered in November of last year. The play was based upon the work of Jerzy Pilch. It begins at the moment when a group of citizens from the "Granatowe" mountains learn of the possibility that the Holy Father will be visiting their city.
The script speaks to the comportment of the Polish people towards the Pope; "About people in small towns, seaking out that white helicopter in the sky, whose coming will change their lives, make them better, wiser, more beautiful. There is, of course, just as much comedy, absurdity and plain silliness as high mindnedness in all this," said Piotr Cieplak, the play's director.
Englert told the Polish Press Agency that the play was taken off of the repertiore because "it has to wait a while. That the media are raising cain over the fact of its' postponement is tasteless, to say the least."
"Postponing "Skis" means the practical cancellation of three performances," said playwright Jerzy Pilch. In his opinion, the play is, in a very real sense, somewhat of a comedy. "Now is still a bit too early to explode in laughter at a play about the Pope."
Pilch did however underline that all writers strive to testify to something universal in their works. "I did not, after all, write this play as a sketch, made for consumption in the life and times of John Paul II."
In the opinion of Theater Critic and publicist for "Rzeczpospolita," Janusz R. Kowalczyk; upon the death of the Pope, the performance has no current right to exist on the stage. "One must take into account the mood of the people," he added.
"The play, in its' present form, will no doubt not return to the 'Teatr Narodowy.' One would have to perform it anew in two, maybe three years. If someone tries earlier, he'll probably fail." Kowalczyk added.
Pilch informed the Polish Press Agency that he's set to meet the play's director, Piotr Cieplak for a closed viewing of "Skis," which is set to be performed at the end of April. "We'll look it over again, and then make our final decision. There's no way, however, that we're going to change the script," Pilch made sure to point out.
