Silence. About Ewa Demarczyk

Silence. Silence full of expectation and tension. The silence that is between something and something. This silence sounds. The air is dense, full of dust. The lights are shining. I see dust particles that float in the light of the headlights, I feel the breath of the audience. I feel this breath physically, on my skin. It fills the whole room and turns into noise. The noise that is placed on this silence. I imagine this hype turning into one common wave. After this wave comes another and one more. Inhale and exhale

And I'm standing in a black dress. This is such a short black dress that my mother sewed, with a boat neckline. I stand in this dress and absorb all the breaths and exhalations. I tune in to them and direct them myself.

The performance inspired by the character of Ewa Demarczyk is not a biography of the artist. It is a landscape composed of fantasies that emerge from selected events in her life and from the musical pieces, from the poetry she sang. It is also a story about the silence that is between something and something, like a pause between songs, a focus before the start of a concert, the silence just after, or the silence before making a life decision.

Ewa Demarczyk created a unique stage creation. Her name triggers a series of similar black and white associations, memories of her concerts are full of emotion.

She created a unique relationship with her audience. As an artist, she was fascinating or controversial. How she was in private remains a mystery. Who did she see in the mirror when she washed off her stage makeup? How did she feel, as a young student, when she first sang with Piwnica Pod Baranami, and what did she think years later, singing Taki paisagem for the hundredth time? What did she hear singing? How did she hear herself and did she notice changes in her voice? What did she hear in silence?

The show can be divided into two parts. In the first, we look at the stage persona of the singer, who gradually falls apart, falls silent. In the second, we imagine what could sound in the silence of the artist. We collect the elements of a scattered biography and lay out a shimmering mosaic of possible longings, feelings, sounds.

* The performance is based on literary fiction inspired by the character and work of Ewa Demarczyk. The image of the heroine, her thoughts, dialogues, all the characters, places and events are the product of the imagination of the author of the script and the director of the play.

For his acting performance in “Silence. About Ewa Demarczyk” Marta Gzowska-Sawicka won the Golden Mask (2022) in the category of actor-female role in dramatic performances.

IMPORTANT INFORMATIONNOTES on a different than usual organization of the performance places in the audience are not numbered.