To win in Edinburgh

During the world biggest theatre festival in Edinburgh, Provisorium Theatre and Kompania Theatre from Lublin will perform Tadeusz Różewicz’s play “Do piachu” 24 times.
The prestige of Fringe Festival is reflected by the official statistics: last year it was the host for 31 thousand performances staged in 250 places. Each week the reporters from “the Scotsman” grant the prestigious Fringe First award; the Lublin theatres that were awarded Fringe First were: Grupa Chwilowa for “Postój w pustyni” (1991), the “old” Provisorium Theatre for “Z nieba, przez świat do samych piekieł” (1992) and the “new” Provisorium Theatre with Kompania Teatr for “Ferdydurke” (2001). The performances by Provisorium Theatre and Kompania Teatr at this year's festival (1-25 August) will be an important element of Polish theatre culture promotion. Last month, in Warsaw, “Do piachu” was staged for renowned British theatre critiques whose assessment will greatly influence the play’s chances for success in Edinburgh. Performed for first time ever in a foreign language, “Do piachu” will be staged in English, particular English. Allen Kuharski, who together with Helena Morawska-White translated the play, and before had “set up” the American version of “Ferdydurke”, is having English classes with the actors. – We are beginning to act truly in British English here. But we are looking for a new, different level of language – we want it to be comprehensible for a British as well as for an American and at the same time we want to hide the fact that the actors are Poles – says Allen Kuharski. Now the English version of “Do piachu" must be formed in such a way so that it keeps the rhythm of its original Polish version. This version of “Do piachu”, directed by Witold Mazurkiewicz and Janusz Opryński is the third play by Różewicz performed by the Lublin theatre groups, and the Różewicz himself calls it a via dolorosa of a man entangled in history and war.