Gra_MY_Cielskiego

July – December 2020
(Berlin / Warsaw)

LANGUAGE
Polish

Funded by the Scholarship
of the  Ministry of Culture
and National Heritage
of the Republic of Poland

Gra_MY_Cielskiego

Funded by the Scholarship of the  Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland

July – December 2020, Berlin / Warsaw

Language: Polish

DIRECTION

Joanna Lewicka

SCRIPT

based on “Diaries” and music compositions by Zygmunt Mycielski

PERFORMED BY

Mariusz Bonaszewski

Zygmunt Mycielski (1907 – 1987) has been nearly forgotten as a composer but re-discovered as the author of an enormous collection of correspondence and “Diaries”, which, due to their intellectual and linguistic qualities, belong to the pinnacle of Polish literature of this genre. Writing between 1950 and 1987, in “Diaries” Mycielski has covered political, social and private matters, including – with blunt honesty – his experiences as a gay man. Following the author’s will, they were published two decades after his death.

The title “Gra_MY_Cielskiego” is a wordplay of a project in development. I am grateful to Mariusz Bonaszewski, one of the best Polish actors, for his willingness to delve into this topic. We have dedicated a year of work to study around 10,000 pages, and hopefully we will be able to stage the play with the rest of my artistic team after the covid pandemic. 

I’m wondering why am I so fascinated by old men like Gombrowicz or Mycielski. Surely, as a woman and a feminist in 2020/21 I wanted to examine testimonies of people from the previous generations and confront them with our reality. But as someone has pointed out, “it has somehow emerged” out of me. A tryptich about three Polish artists: Stryjenska, Gombrowicz, Mycielski. A triptych dealing with Polish history and heritage. My heritage.

CREATORS

Direction: Joanna Lewicka

Based on “Diaries” and music compositions by Zygmunt Mycielski

Performed by Mariusz Bonaszewski

Zygmunt Mycielski (1907 – 1987) has been nearly forgotten as a composer but re-discovered as the author of an enormous collection of correspondence and “Diaries”, which, due to their intellectual and linguistic qualities, belong to the pinnacle of Polish literature of this genre. Writing between 1950 and 1987, in “Diaries” Mycielski has covered political, social and private matters, including – with blunt honesty – his experiences as a gay man. Following the author’s will, they were published two decades after his death.

The title “Gra_MY_Cielskiego” is a wordplay of a project in development. I am grateful to Mariusz Bonaszewski, one of the best Polish actors, for his willingness to delve into this topic. We have dedicated a year of work to study around 10,000 pages, and hopefully we will be able to stage the play with the rest of my artistic team after the covid pandemic. 

I’m wondering why am I so fascinated by old men like Gombrowicz or Mycielski. Surely, as a woman and a feminist in 2020/21 I wanted to examine testimonies of people from the previous generations and confront them with our reality. But as someone has pointed out, “it has somehow emerged” out of me. A tryptich about three Polish artists: Stryjenska, Gombrowicz, Mycielski. A triptych dealing with Polish history and heritage. My heritage.