FA - Iwona, Princess of Burgundy +size

Polish Theatre in Bielsko-Biała

Witold Gombrowicz

Iwona, Princess of Burgundy

Director — Lena Frankiewicz

Set design — Agata Stanula

Costumes — Krystian Szymczak

Choreography — Agnieszka Kryst

Lighting design — Damian Pawella

Multimedia/ Video — Mateusz Zieliński

Music — Stefan Wesołowski

Assistant Director — Mateusz Wojtasiński

Assistant choreographer — Katarzyna Sikora

Premiere: May 17, 2025

Duration: 160 minutes (1 break)

Cast

Anita Jancia (Iwona), Grzegorz Sikora (King Ignatius), Marta Gzowska-Sawicka (Queen Margaret), Michał Czaderna (Prince Philip), Piotr Gajos (Chamberlain), Marta Suprun/ Żaneta Rus (Iza), Mateusz Wojtasiński (Cyril), Grzegorz Margas (Cyprian)), Jagoda Krzywicka (Lady I), Wiktoria Wegrzyn-Lichosyt (Lady II), Flaunnette Mafa (Lady III), Sławomir Miska (Inocenty, Beggar), Adam Myrczek (Walenty)

What is the importance of silence today?

Witold Gombrowicz published his first drama “Iwona, Princess of Burgundy” in 1938 in the magazine “Skamander”. In it he describes with great precision the world of forms and conventions that govern the inhabitants of the court. Recz perfectly translates into our present day. Can passive resistance be the most effective weapon against people who devote most of their time and energy to creating their own image? The play, directed by Lena Frankiewicz, shows the grotesque of today's world of ubiquitous creation. The silence of the titular heroine turns out to be a force that begins to rule the court imperceptibly. You don't show anything, you don't say anything — we don't know anything about you. Or are you our enemy? Why don't you want to submit? The performance of the Theater in Bielsko-Biała is a spectacularly realized and wise story about how algorithms change our lives. The ordinariness and lack of “embellishment” of one's existence irritates and intrigues, irritates and raises incisive questions.

The show is recommended for viewers over 16 years of age.

Smoke, strobe lights and intense sounds are used in the performance.

“(...) a performance in defense of independence, personal freedom, freedom of expression, individuality and honesty. And most importantly — an absorbing, interesting, attention-grabbing performance, witty in its own way, nourishing the senses with delightful acting creations (...), music, costumes and scenography, while being faithful to Gombrowicz's text, without annotations and intrusions that modernize the drama by force. Contemporary are only the staging, the vision, the art.”

Stanislav Bubin on “Ivana, Princess of Burgundy”