Pyramid of animals

What is art for? Art is for nothing, but I can't resist it.

(excerpt from the script of the play)

The political transformation of '89 is nothing more than a new, luminous, happy Poland and everyone knows it. In the midst of this joyful fiesta, however, there are those who make the ferment. They are visual artists.

When some open champagne corks, the others build concentration camps out of Lego bricks (Libera), set up an artificial palm tree in the middle of Warsaw (Rajkowska), portray male bodies without limbs (Żmijewski) or film the death of a horse (Kozyra). With a society that is just learning to use freedom, they are playing a dangerous game. They go to the “cold war”, they do not let us forget about the dark sides of the transformation, they make confusion, they scratch the wounds, they do not agree to the existing social contract.

“Pyramid of Animals” is a performance in four parts, each of which refers to one of the made-up animals from the famous, scandalous sculpture by Catherine Kozyra of the same name. Michał Borczuch and playwright Mateusz Górniak move from the critical art of the 1990s to the present day to ask the question — can we use the freedom we have?

Everything in this performance is of the highest standard — the text by Mateusz Górniak, the direction by Michał Borczuch, the scenography and costumes by Dorota Nawrot or the choreography of Paweł Sakowicz, but I would especially like to highlight the insane music of Bartosz Dziadosza and the camera work of Jakub Katarzyński. (...) The work of the camera on the train deserves all the awards, because it is equal partner of Małgorzata Zawadzka, which is not an easy task, considering how excellent an actress she is and what an outstanding role she plays here. In addition to Małgorzata Zawadzka, the actors of this show are Iwona Budner, Urszula Kiebzak, Aleksandra Nowosadko, Michał Badeński, Bogdan Brzyski, Roman Gancarczyk, Mikołaj Kubacki, Kamil Pudlik, Krzysztof Zawadzki. Everyone plays wonderfully, creating characters and images that remain under the eyelid.

(Tomasz Domagała, DomagałasięKultury)

The author of the collective portrait used in the scenography is Rafał Dominik.

Costume — t-shirt with eagle was designed by Svenje Gassen.

Note:

In the performance there is a drastic and vulgar language, strobe light, cigarettes are smoked on the stage.

Prizes and Trips:

○ Radio Krakow Brand — November 2025

○ Best performance in Krakow in 2025 according to the summary of Gazeta Krakowska

○ 15th Stanisław Wyspiański Theatre Award | Special Award for Michał Borczuch for directing — March 2026

○ XXXII. International Festival of Pleasant and Unpleasant Arts, Łódź — May 2026

○ 46th Warsaw Theatre Meetings, Warsaw — June 2026

○ Acting Award of the 32nd National Competition for the Exhibition of Polish Contemporary Art for Małgorzata Zawadzka — June 2026

Pyramid of Animals — Program

The performance was included in the final of the 32nd National Competition for the Exhibition of Polish Contemporary Art

The license for the use of illustrative music, choreography and musical illustration was granted by the Association of Authors ZAiKS.