„GOOD MORNING LADIES & GENTLEMEN-WITKACY”
based on THE ANONYMOUS WORK by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz

Written and directed by
Andrzej Dziuk

scenography
Rafał Zawistowski

music
Jerzy Chruściński

date: 4, October 2007
time: 7 pm
place: the Main Hall of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk
Targ Węglowy 6

Organised by the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre in Gdańsk

Tickets: 50 (full price), 38 (student discount)
Available at the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre in Gdańsk
Korzenna 33/35
info: www.nck.org.pl

The Baltic Sea Cultural Centre proudly presents an extraordinary event: the legendary Witkacy Theatre from Zakopane is back to Gdańsk after more than 5 years with its famous performance “GOOD MORNING LADIES & GENTLEMEN-WITKACY”.
This time Andrzej Dziuk, the director and founder of Witkacy Theatre, found an inspiration in one of the Witkiewicz's dramas which focuses on a tragic vision of the collapse of the 20th century's art, politics and philosophy.

The drama
"THE ANONYMOUS WORK. FOUR ACTS OF QUITE AN UNPLEASANT NIGHTMARE" – dedicated to Bronislaw Malinowski , was written in 1921, but it was published only in 1962. (...) The whole drama takes the shape of the examination and investigation in a natural way; it is a philosophical "crime story" about the art and revolution which tries to investigate the right culprits in these both areas of human’s activity and to discover the methods of commiting the crimes. (...) The two main points in "The Anonymous Work" are domination and subordination, and the most important thing is the fact , who is on the top. (...) Being the play about the nature of creative power, "The Anonymous Work" touches the matter of close relations between creation and destruction many times: "There are artists who create positive values in life by their creative work and there are those who create the most significantly by destroying their own life and even the life of others." ( Daniel C. Gerould, "Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz as a writer", PIW 1981, p. 241-25)

The performance
According to the press, the performance which had its premiere on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of Witkacy Theatre in Zakopane resembles its most important performances. The show, described by the press as consistent, intriguing and remarkably vivid, renders precisely the spirit of Witkacy’s works.

“It is a kind of a model mise-en-scène. (...) The show takes place on a long, wooden platform surrounded by the audience. The beginning is humorous: the characters are a group of scatter-brains obsessed with incredible ideas. The actors are extrimely disguised, they move in a half-mechanical way, their voices are unnaturally reduced to one mode. They create colorful and weird characters and they are not afraid to exaggerate. The whole performance has been enclosed with a skillful dynamic choreography. It is typical Witkacy: grotesque, presented with courage and feeling for comedy (...). In the meantime the grotesque is slowly replaced by serious tones. The fireworks die down and there comes the tone of “the serious”. But it's also Witkacy: the prophet predicting the failure and death of an individual and the triumph of a mindless crowd. (...)”
The performance of Dziuk intrigues and amuses the audience."
Marcin Koscielniak, "No risk", "Tygodnik Powszechny" nr 12, 19.03.2006.

The main power of the show is a great staging of a company, who were recognized at the April edition of 33rd Theatre Confrontations in Opole – The Polish Classics 2007. The special award went to Dorota Ficoń for her role of Róża van der Blast. The actress who has worked with Witkacy’s stage since the beginning.

Witkacy Theatre
The idea of creating the own Theatre arose during the studies in Cracow Theatrical High School, named after Ludwik Solski. There met students of Stage Management Department: Julia Wernio and Andrzej Dziuk and also future actors: Dorota Ficon, Karina Krzywicka, Piotr Dabrowski, Andrzej Jesionek, Krzysztof Lakomik, Krzysztof Najbor and Piotr Sambor. They started to work on their own as a science circle. One of the result was the performance "Pragmatists" by St.I.Witkiewicz. This performance became one of the major arguments in the intention of winning the audience in Zakopane to the idea of establishing permanent theatre in this capital of the Tatra mountains.

In August 1984 the graduates of High Theatrical School in Cracow presented "Pragmatists" to Zakopane audience. 10 performances gathered the full audience - spectators who were bored? searching for the truth? interested?
Theatre in Zakopane was established at the beginning without any law regulations - the only reason was meeting of the actors and spectators - the most essential reason. Soon, thanks to the kindness of the Society of Theatre Lovers, the group named itself "independent professional section" of this Society and gained the formal basis of existence.
As a matter of fact, the rebellion against "theatre - institution" was one of major motives of the assembly acting, it served for self-determination, it was dictating their own, original programme.
One of its rules was discovering and reffering to the precious cultural heritage, augmented to Zakopane by the first decades of 20th century. Witkacy`s work and thought were in this aspect the supreme matter, but not the only one. The matters were all the spiritual and material values which were preserved there. One of these material values were the rooms, chosen by the theatre group for its residence. Dr Chramiec`s Hydrotherapy Sanatory, built in 1910, in its glorious days was the place of socialising for the intellectual and artistic elite of Zakopane. The fact of creating the theatre there let this rich in tradition site to exist again as a centre of cultural life.
The works over adjusting the sanatory rooms to the theatre activity were going in the same time as the rehearsals of the opening performance of Witkacy Theatre. The performance "Witkacy - Authoparody- the Crude Highlander`s and Dude Sketch, dedicated to (true?) Natives of Zakopane" was shown for the first time 24th February 1985, precisely in 100th anniversary of the author`s birthday. From that moment St.I.Witkiewicz became the patron of new theatre in Zakopane.
"Authoparody" was a kind of a social reception with the participation of literary "cranks" and the audience. The spectators were the guests, both in the meaning of people invited to the soirÓe and the people visiting the Theatre. On both accounts they deserved a special respect. The Theatre wouldn`t exist without them.
The respect for the spectator, hospitality meeting people who were coming to the Theatre in Chramcówki street, gave Witkacy Theatre the fame of the unique, exceptional place. The matter was, as it seems, fundamental - the affirmation of humanity. The man not treated as an intruder but as an awaited and desirable guest; the man who was told (and shown) his dignity, so that free, easy, creative man - that`s the spectator always wanted by Witkacy Theatre.
From the beginning of its existence, St.I.Witkiewicz Theatre plays the role of the "shelter", place where people feeling a vital need to be in touch with the art can meet. In the world of the advanced mechanization and materialization, neglect and ugliness, carefulness of all this what is beautiful and unselfish, seems to be a protest. The life of this stage is subjected to its own rythm, marked by the dates of beginning the summer and winter seasons, first night, "Carnival at Witkacy`s" or February celebration of its "birthday". These special occasions gather in this Theatre many distinguished artists and theoreticians of various fields of art. Numerous one-man-shows have enriched the property of the Theatre Gallery.
From the conviction of the members of the Theatre company about an inspiring role of interdisciplinar meeting and the confrontation of various ways of thinking and acting in culture there derives the idea of the Artistic Presentations in Zakopane.
St.I.Witkiewicz Theatre sees its vocation in creating such a model of an artistic event which stimulates openness and is a chance for a dialogue. Following this track together with Tatra Art Foundation, created in 1990 and named after St.I.Witkiewicz, the Theatre wants to restore Zakopane as one of the most creative centers of artistic and intellectual life in Poland, to restore the fame that it won in the days of St.Witkiewicz and his son, Witkacy.
Compilation: Elzbieta Ogrodowska, Iwona Pawlowska

Dziuk about his own theatre:
"I believe in such a dimension of art that takes the responsibilty for meeting the other. We respect our audience. We wait for them even if they are late or annoyed. When I see somebody running in and taking off his coat in a hurry, I tell them to calm down or have some tea. Just for the sake of a little moment of silence and contemplation before the show." ("Kaleidoscope" 2003, nr 4).
“I do not feel enthusiastic about the contemporary naturalist, gutter drama – says the director - We want to be faithful to Witkacy, i.e. to the artistic theatre which deals with the metaphysical rather than the political." ("Rzeczpospolita" 23.01.2006)