Warsaw Carnival

Perhaps the Italians owe the world primarily a coffee machine and ice cream, and
French folding umbrella. But Warsaw owes them something else: the former gave her the idea of a carnival in a masked version, the latter popularized the idea so that Warsaw masquerades — from the time of the Duchy of Warsaw for another hundred years — were not inferior to the balls of Paris and Berlin.

“There is no house in which the walls and the floor do not tremble from ten in the evening to eight in the morning; (...) There is no mistress of a women's clothing store who would not be begged for credit on her knees...” — wrote Bolesław Prus in his Chronicles. Because the Warsaw Carnival was already something much more important than just an interesting form of spending free time. Representatives of different social groups sat here at one table. The aristocrat danced with the shoemaker, the lord of the court with the maid. Everyone was peeping, gossiping and coveting. Masked husbands looked for evidence of spouses' betrayals, and mothers of poor maidens on the occasion of their marriage.

In “Warsaw Carnival” — written by Cyryl Danielewski as a trivial comedy of mistakes — it is similar: everything starts with the desire to find good parts in life, and the characters fall into a whirlwind of dressing up.

“Today we dance different dances, but the same thing happens between people: the daily struggle for status, love, the creation of oneself and the world, entanglement in an endless carnival,” says Sławomir Narloch, director of our New Year's premiere, which returns to the Big Comedy Stage after 64 years.

“Warsaw Carnival” 2024 will not only be a black and white journey through Warsaw from the turn of the century and through a forgotten stage genre — vaudeville with a full mouth, a musical spectacle, with singing, dancing and lively action. It will be a story about finding love and acceptance in big cities. We will look at Warsaw balls, banquets and nightclubs.

In our revived vaudeville “Carnival...” you will hear original melodies in contemporary, full of new energy, arrangements by Jakub Gawlik. We looked for movement and dance inspiration in the dances of pre-war Warsaw and folk dances. Because the capital is the unfading background of the whole story. But what kind of Warsaw is it? Maybe playing the role of a big city, where people come to fulfill the dream of a better, fuller and happier life? Or a metaphor for a land that gives anonymity but makes you pay for it with superficial relationships? Or is it just a world where it's all about loving and being loved...?

Stage: Big Stage

Why vodeville to whom today? Slawomir Narloch
Wodewil is a forgotten theatrical genre. In addition, it is associated rather with trivial entertainment, kitsch. And for me it is a genre that gives an extraordinary field of possibilities to creators and people performing on stage. It is a convention in which theatre is understood as a spectacle — a synthesis of the arts — a combination of comedic acting, music, singing and dancing. It's a challenge to the imagination! An extremely energetic and exuberant genre, also requiring acting skill.

Vodevil with a full mouth must have “lightness” in himself, and “lightness in the theater” requires great physical effort, dexterity and precision. In reading the “Warsaw Carnival” itself, it is extremely interesting that many issues that were once supposed to entertain, today sound very serious. It will be a vaudeville not only danced and sung, but also carrying a story about the loneliness of people in big cities. Times change, the architecture of cities, the rhythm of the day, but our problems, characters and desires do not change.