Memories of the director’s own experiences of military recruitment assessments are used to redefine existing concepts to create a queer phantasy system. Written for four actors and a pianist, his real-life story becomes the impulse for a performative, camp variety piece. Nijinsky’s Afternoon of the Faun comes to life in the men's dressing room, along with Moniuszko's patriotic Polish folk songs, and Shostakovich's Battle Symphony soundtracks aerobic exercises.
Cezary Goes to War is part of the Pre-war/War/Post-war series of Komuna//Warszawa, describing the permanent state of war the world finds itself in. Wars can be either armed or psychological, overseas or domestic, international or familiar. The past few years we are confronted with the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, Brexit and Trump's victory. The idea that war in Europe may stop being history is not just a far-fetched narrative anymore, so we need to ask ourselves these questions: Are we prepared for the war? Does the memory of the war make maintaining peace easier? Can war be fair?
Komuna//Warszawa is an important Polish independent avant-garde theatre group, experimenting at the borders of performing arts, video-installation and music. With Cezary Goes to War they won the Best Artistic Team Award at the 2017 Divine Comedy Festival (Krakow).
directing: Cezary Tomaszewski, cast: Michał Dembinski, Weronika Krówka, Oskar Malinowski, Bartosz Ostrowski & Łukasz Stawarczyk, dramaturgy: Klaudia Hartung-Wójciak, script: Justyna Wąsik, costumes Bracia: Agnieszka Klepacka & Maciej Chorąży, lights: Antoni Grałek, music: Debussy, Handel, Moniuszko & Shostakovich, photos: Patrycja Mic, production: Komuna//Warszawa, realisation: Bracia (Agnieszka Klepacka, Maciej Chorąży), Antoni Grałek, Justyna Wąsik & Klaudia Hartung-Wójciak
