Transformations

The play uses fragments of Ovid's Transformations translated by Bruno the Count of Kiciński.

krisis — from gr.: decision, turning point, moment when something demands attention

The transformations open the experimental scene of the Grotesque and lead viewers to sun-warmed archaeological excavations. Squar. Running out of water. Equipment that fails. A team functioning in a clear hierarchy: the professor, his wife, junior researchers who are supposed to “do their thing”. Fruitless work continues, and time flows inexorably.

What was supposed to be a study of the past gradually begins to concern the present. Something breaks in the relationships, in the structure of the team, in the story itself. The narrative is laid out like an archaeological profile: layer by layer reveals successive tensions and shifts. Realistic scenes turn into performative actions, the rhythm of the work turns into a score of movement and sound, which more and more clearly deviates from the established order.

Excerpts from Ovid's Metamorphoses return as a chorus. Myth is not an illustration, but a lens through which we view the present. Stories of mythological transformations resonate with what is happening here and now.

Each of the characters is at a different point in their lives. Each reacts differently when the current system stops working. Some cling to assigned roles, others try to transform them.

This is a story about a moment of transition, a turning point where nothing is final, and change does not necessarily require a decision - it will happen anyway, but you can try to speed it up, slow it down, give it direction, but there is no way to stop it.

What will we know when we uncover the next layer?

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The performance of Przemiany is a theater of form, movement and sound, which become the basic language of the narrative. The scenography is minimal, which allows observation: on the one hand we see the outside world, directed towards the earth and artifacts, and on the other - the relationships and small changes that occur between the characters.

In “Transformations” by Natalia Sakowich-Cempura, the vicissitudes of modern heroes are echoed by mythical stories from Ovid's tales, giving the trivial struggles of the heroes a universal character. And the feeling of relief is given by the performance on many levels — from the uncomplicated action, through the neutral and safe scenography, to the music of Maciej Sakowicz-Cempura, which is like balm in this story

Anna Piatkowska, Cracow Gazeta