Polish – English performance
Based on Dziady część II by Adam Mickiewicz
Title of the drama refers to Dziady, an ancient Slavic ritual which beginning stretch back to pagan times known as the “goat’s feast”. On the Halloween Night a group of peasants with their leader Guslarz are secretly summoning ghosts suffering in purgatory to ensure them the access to heaven. They celebrate the customary feast commemorating the dead, believing their meals, drinks and rituals can bring relief to the summoned souls of the departed. When the deceased come back with the requests and warnings the micro – world of the performance starts to be a striking vision of eerie dialogue between living and the dead which once took place in a night time chapel… The pagan ceremony of banqueting the dead, intermixed with Christians notions, with its folk morality becomes a specific philosophy of life and death and happens to be a universal story about time and eternity.
Premiere: 18th of May 2019, Polish Heritage Days 2019, Assembly Roxy theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland
Translated from Polish by Charles S. Kraszewski
Adapted and directed by Pat Zajac
Cast: Lukasz Leszkiewicz, Pat Zajac, Daniele Silvan, Lynsey Walker, Alistair Wales, Amandine Le Marchand, Roland Rajzer
Choir/VO: Ewa Chalupa, Beata Furgalska, Roland Rajzer, Katarzyna Stepniak, Malgorzata Wronska, Lukasz Moskalik
Music: Pat Zajac
Official poster and Costumes: Mr B. Photobooth & Atelier
Link:
Review in Polish by Michał Nakoniczewski, Tydzien Polski
Reviews from the Audience:
“The play was very good and the performances were brilliant! There was a lot of passion from all actors.I loved all the characters, especially the female Owl, as there was a beautiful control of the voice, excellent body movements, huge emotions. I was really amazed with the level of acting! Certainly we would like to see more of similar productions in Edinburgh!”
* * *
A wonderfully unique performance combining two languages seamlessly in to one show. The actors and production created a beautifully haunting show. I very much enjoyed the performance and can’t wait to see what they do next.