Death on a pear tree

DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT:

In their recent findings the artists of Teatr CHOREA, along with the director Łukasz Kos, learnt about an interesting persona - Wotold Wandurski, who takes an important place in the history of the interwar theatre of Poland, however has been totally forgotten. 

The CHOREA group took up the staging of “Death on a Pear Tree” / ”Śmierć na gruszy”, which is the most outstanding drama of Wandurski, as it represents a significant clash between the tradition and modernity, folk tale depicting social issues of the nineteen twenties’ Poland. Not only is the spirit of rebellion, social injustice and revolution reflected in the performance, but also the sense of play, irony and absurdity. 

Wandurski’s play is a satire on capitalism and militarism based on the folk tale about the Death's imprisonment and its negative effects on the humanity. What the drama is about is mixed up order, non-standard relations and the ways to handle a situation of rules violation of natural harmony and social standards. Just as Wandurski employed a fairy tale, a vulgar comedy to confront the world of interwar Poland - with the injustice, stupidity, social inertia - so did the artists of CHOREA undertake to employ his screenplay to confront with one anotherand the surrounding world.

INFORMATION ABUT THE ARTISTS:

Łukasz Kos - theatre director and actor. Born in 1970 in Warsaw. At the age of 10, he started to write theatre plays and decided to become a director. A student of Theatre Studies Department of The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. In 1999 he graduated from the Faculty of Drama Directing at the AST National Academy of Theatre Art in Cracow. He also graduated Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing. Łukasz Kos has directed over 40 theatre, opera and music productions.
During his studies he became an assistant to Maja Komorowska when making “Summerfolk” by M.Gorki, an assistant to Rudolf Zioło with respect to the making of "The Tempest" by W.Shakespeare (National Stary Theatre in Cracow, 1997) and Andrzej Wajda with whom he collaborated on the staging of “The Curse", by S.Wyspiański (National Stary Theatre in Cracow, 1997). Between the years 1989-1992 he toured with the private Kici-Koci Theatre of Zbigniew Mich and Wojciech Królikiewicz around Poland. In 1998 as a result of collaboration with Marek Wrona he directed “Forefathers' Eve, part II. Conrad’s Cell” by A.Mickiewicz on the stage of Teatr Ludowy in Nowa Huta. His next undertaking was the direction of "Zazum" in the Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw (2000). It was a lyrical performance with the verses of Dariusz Rzontkowski, which stylistically is close to Elderly Gentlemen’s Cabaret. Between the years 2001-2003 he cooperated with Teatr Nowy in Łódź, where he directed: „Beztlenowce” by I. Villqist, a contemporary chamber opera “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat” by M. Nymana, “Kurka wodna” by S. I. Witkiewicz"Go-Go, or Neurotic Personality of Today" entertainment show with lyrics and music by Jakub Przebindowski who staged it again four years later, this time in the Theare Scena STU in Cracow. Łukasz Kos is also the author of theatrical stagings for children. In the Warsaw Teatr Lalka he directed the following performances: “Toy-shop” by A. Popescu and „Janosik.The True Story” by M. Walczak. On the stage of Teatr Polski im.H. Konieczki in Bydgoszcz he presented the contemporary adaptation of „Kaytek the Wizard” by J. Korczak. His directorial credits also include: Robert Bolesto’s "Ayrton Senna da Silva" (Teatr Imka, Warsaw), Gogol’s "Wij. Ukraiński horror" ("Viy: A Ukrainian Horror"; Zagłębie Theatre, Sosnowiec), Homer’s and Alessandro Baricco’s "Iliada. Wojna" ("The Iliad: War"; Helena Modjeska Theatre, Legnica), "Porozmawiajmy po niemiecku" ("Let’s Speak in German"), based on Hanna Zach’s diary (Teatr Polonia, Warsaw), and James M. Barrie’s "Piotruś Pan" ("Peter Pan"; Teatr Nowy, Warsaw). Moreover, along with Jacek Papis, Łukasz Kos is the co-author of a documentary „Zdzisław Maklakiewicz” (1996) about the career of one of the most outstanding Polish film actors. In 2004 he directed “Wrong Side Up” written by P. Zelenka as a television production for Teatr Telewizji. He cooperated with the following theatres: Teatr Polski in Wrocław, Teatr Rozmaitości in Warsaw, Teatr Narodowy in Warsaw, Teatr Studyjny PWSFTviT in Łódź, Teatr Polonia, Teatr Rozrywki in Chorzów, Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa in Warsaw, Teatr im.C. K. Norwida in Jelenia Góra, Och-Teatr in Warsaw, Teatr IMKA in Warsaw, Teatr Zagłębie in Sosnowiec. Kos is a member of Teatro Tatro, Slovakia.

CHOREA Theatre - is a thriving, uncountable and unpredictable group of artists, performers, musicians, dancers, actors, practitioners, theatre and drama theorists. We create interdisciplinary artistic, educational and social projects: concerts, workshops and performances. We employ innovative, original work methods, going beyond the cultural mainstream. We direct our work, projects, actions and activities to: adults, youth and children, those who are regular theatre-goers, those with limited access to art, and those looking for alternative cultural initiatives. We put emphasis on team-building, joint cooperation, partnership, group dynamics, interrelations, the awareness of body, voice and musicality in our work.
CHOREA Theatre was founded in 2004 in Lublin, as a result of collaboration between two groups of performers. First group, 'The Ancient Orchestra', was developing musical and rhythmical work. Second group, 'Dances of the Labyrinth', was experimenting on movement and dance. Since 2004, before they found their residence in Lodz in 2007, they have been working in several locations. The company was first based in Naleczow, Srebrna Gora and Warsaw, they cooperated with Erthfall Dance Theatre in Cardiff (Wales). Since 2007 they established a permanent base in the city of Lodz, co-founding with Lodz Art Centre a cultural institution named Fabryka Sztuki (Art Factory) and they own an amazing industrial theatre spaces (for rehearsals, performances and workshops) situated in the 19th Century factories, named Art_Inkubator in Fabryka Sztuki in Lodz.
During 16 years of activity CHOREA Theatre fully developed its educational and artistic work. CHOREA artists organized many international workshop sessions, transnational artistic projects, several 10 of their own International Theatre Festival Retroperspektywy and nationwide Theatre Festival Perspektywy, and created more than 40 theatre productions, performances, and concerts. In 2015 CHOREA artists recorded a musical album 'Lullabies' and published actors training handbook 'Actors physical training. From individual to group actions'. In 2020 we recorded our second musical album "Gilgamesh" - concert for a choir, jazz trio and string quartet. CHOREA group collaborates with artists from all over the world: USA, Great Britain, Israel, Spain, India, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Syria, Japan, Russia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia, Moldova, etc.
During last years CHOREA Theatre presented their performances, concerts and intensive workshop sessions all over the world. In 2009 CHOREA performed on International Meeting on Ancient Drama Festival in Delphi, (Greece). In 2010 we cooperated with Rosanna Gamson Worldwide Theatre in Los Angeles (USA). In 2011 we presented our work in Escena Contemporanea Festival in Madrid (Spain) and in Mayerhold Theatre Centre in Moscow (Russia). In 2012 we visited Stage Centre in Tel Aviv (Israel). In 2011, 2012 and 2013 we performed on Bharat Rang Mahotsav - the biggest international Theatre Festival in India. In 2014 and 2015 we showed our performances in Art Carnuntum Verein für Kunst Geschichte Theater Kultur Festival in Art Carnuntum (Austria). In 2015 we presented our work in Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and in Chisnau (Moldova). In 2015 and 2016 we performed in Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre (Georgia). In 2017 we performed in Berlin (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden) and in St.Petersburg (Russia). In 2018 we visited Baerum Kulturhus and sandvika Teater in Oslo (Norway), we leaded an intensive workshop session, in terms of "Polish Theatre Days” during II International Theatre Festival TheATRIUM 2018 in Drama Theatre in Klaipeda (Lithuania), performed in Danube Bend Theatre in Vac (Hungary) in terms of V4 Festival and Theatre Meeting 2018, and performed on Festivalul International de Teatru Pentru Publicul Tanar in Iasi (Romania). In 2019 we visited NUKU Theatre in Tallin (Estonia), where we performed on Visual Theatre Festival NuQ Treff, and again performed in Danube Bend Theatre in Vac (Hungary) in terms of V4 Festival and Theatre Meeting 2019. In 2020 we leaded intensive workshop session in Akademija za umjetnost i kulturu, in Osijek (Croatia), and leaded a big international project 'Ukraine - Poland: The borderland of theatre cultures'.

Wydarzenie odbywa się w ramach projektu Przestrzenie Sztuki. Projekt Przestrzenie Sztuki jest finansowany ze środków Ministerstwa Kultury, Dziedzictwa Narodowego i Sportu, realizowany przez Narodowy Instytut Muzyki i Tańca oraz Instytut Teatralny im. Zbigniewa Raszewskiego.

Projekt dofinansowano ze środków Urzędu Miasta Łodzi.