"What a Life Will It Be!" is a monologue of a
woman who lost her husband in a plane crash. Unexpected loss is a point at
which the woman decides to reflect upon her foregoing existence as a wife of the prominent member
of the government.
We may observe various emotional states evoked by the
tragedy. The woman tries to rationalize the loss, she meets specialists,
journalists and former friends. What is more, she confronts her pain with the
pain of the children.
Day after the woman both searches for sense and fights with
the media and politicians, who want her to play the „role” of the widow for
their own purposes.
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The
Polish premiere of our monodrama „I będą święta” („What a Life Will It Be!”)
took place on the 8th of January, 2012 in the Konsekwentny Theatre
in Warsaw. This demanding solo actor show had been well received both by the
audience and a number of critics present at the theatre. The play itself
arouses fierce controversy in Poland as it deals with an uneasy subject of the
plane crash in Smolensk two years ago.Throughout the play the audience
witnesses the psyche and actions of a woman who lost her husband in the crash.
Needless
to say, the crash which caused 96 deaths of the most prominent, distinguished
members of the Polish government, military service and clergy is still a
subject of fierce discussions and conflicts between the most powerful political
parties in Poland. There are politicians who claim the crash had been a
purposeful action of the Russians and its collaborators and those politicians
are reluctant to accept the results of the international investigation.
Correspondingly,
the families of the victims have been involved in this ideological battle and
manipulated by various institutions.
The
aim of our play was a protest against such actions. We decided to portray a
character who tries to deal with the loss on her own way. The woman realises that
her life had never really belonged to her. She served her husband as a house-
keeper, a cook, a lover.... Surprisingly, the despair gives her strength, new
sense of freedom which she had lacked in her previous life.
Undisputably,
this one-person show follows a person internal development over a period of
time. It is a universal story about pain, anger, love but above all about
hope for the new, mature and
self-reliant life.
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DISAMRMING THE MOURNING
„What a Life Will it Be!”, directed by Piotr Ratajczak. Konsekwentny Theatre, Warsaw. A review by Jacek Wakar
in Przekrój magazine.
„I będą święta” (What a Life Will it Be!) is not only a play
about the Smolensk tragedy; it is about how to start a new life after a
terrible loss.
Piotr Rowicki, the author of the script, is a playwright who frequently
chooses difficult historic events as the themes of his plays. He has already
dealt with Jedwabne (Przylgnięcie), Nangar Khel (Chłopiec malowany),
relationships between Poles and Germans after the war (Baden-Baden).
This time we observe a woman mourning over the tragic death of her
husband who died in the memorable plane crash in Smoleńsk. At the very beginnig
of this one-person show the woman describes how she found out about the tragedy
from the television report of the event.
Then there is the refusal to take part in the gatherings of the families of the
victims, reminescences of the tragedy. Nevertheless, the play directed by Piotr
Ratajczak is by no means a mere account of the suffering after such a traumatic
loss. It is about how to face the circumstances and start a new life with
dignity.
Agnieszka Przepiórka is an excellent actress captivating attention
throughout the whole play. In the monodrama she is able to demonstrate the
whole spectrum of her acting abilities and those are truly impressive.
At the beginning of the play the character portrayed by Agnieszka
Przepiórska presents herself as the luckiest person in the world. She idealizes
her marriage and family life. Next there is time for reflection, nervous
breakdown, even rebellion. The woman stops pretending the pain is gone. She
realises her life was far from being perfect and now it is time to start something new.
The strongest asset of the play is the proficiently directed
actress. Agnieszka Przepiórska in this
solo performance is provocative, impudent, suffering, angry and lost. I strongly recommend „I będą święta” mainly
because of her.
