Mother leaves - performative reading

The actors of the Adam Mickiewicz Theater in Częstochowa will soon appear on the stage of the Municipal House of Culture in Radomsk as part of the 3 x Różewicz Festival. Not by accident. The fate of the Różewicz family connects our cities very much. After all, they moved from Radomsk to Częstochowa. By reading the text of an unusual book, where we discover their biography in an unconventional way, the festival will begin. The performative reading is prepared especially for the Municipal House of Culture in Radomsk and will have its premiere on Tadeusz Różewicz's birthday. The performance will also be shown on the stage of the Częstochowa Theater.

It's a story about a mother. About son. About memory. And about those who, leaving, remain with us forever.

“Mother Leaves” is one of Tadeusz Różewicz's most intimate and poignant works — a literary return to home, childhood and the character of a mother, present in memory even when her voice has already subsided. From fragments of memories, family documents, photographs, records of everyday life and poetry, a story is created about love, the passing away and the need to preserve the traces of human life.

In the production of Marek Ślosarski, the narrator becomes a guide through this world — the poet's alter ego, creator of memory and witness of time. It is he who evokes subsequent images and characters, opening before the audience a space of memories. Three incarnations of the Mother appear on the stage: a young girl, a mature woman and a person standing at the end of life. Each of them is part of the same story, recorded in the memory of his son.

The main place of the action, in the staging of Marek Ślosarski, becomes the house — a symbol of shelter, closeness and family memory. His heart is a table around which words, memories and absentees gather. Music, light and multimedia create a space between reality and memory, between what was and what remains.

The performative reading prepared as part of the 3 x Różewicz Festival is not only a meeting with one of the most important texts of the author. It is also a tribute to Tadeusz Różewicz — a poet born in Radomsk, whose childhood, youth and experiences of the family home have forever imprinted their mark on his work.

Written and directed by Marek Ślosarski

Cast: Marek Ślosarski, Agata Ochota-Hutyra, Małgorzata Marciniak

Marta Honzatko: vocals, Michał Walczak: guitar, arrangements

Premiere at MDK in Radomsk - October 9 at 6 p.m.

Performances at Mickiewicz Theatre: 14 October, 10 am and 6 pm

Poster/MDK Radomsko