Review: APPETITE FOR CHERRIES at Teatr Muzyczny Poznan

We all love love stories, even those with Unhappy Ending and there is something comforting with the feeling of moving forward and turning pages. Agnieszka Osiecka was not the most optimistic writer but I love her texts, full of the virtuosity of the word itself and this bitter-magical taste of vulnerability and courage to live.

How does this love story unfold after a few decades? The songs are as awesome and fresh as ever, bringing a timeless feeling of love. There is this special beauty when it comes to simple pleasures, like looking at familiar faces and listening to easy notes. It's sweet, simple, and like feeling the fresh breeze of spring flowers. Don't get me wrong, it's not trivial, it's like watching a well-known story.

There are different angles, and different people making similar mistakes, what goes around comes around. They change costumes out of suitcases, just like we change depending on the person we enter into a relationship with, but at the end of the day, we are deep down just ourselves.

Two people: She – Katarzyna Tapek and Him – Radoslaw Elis, entangled in their emotions, their dreams, their hopes, and their beautiful songs. Two people on stage constantly change, rewriting stories and memories to bring their point of view to life. Sometimes it is easier to talk to a stranger than to a loved one. The two actors bring great energy, She is light, full of charisma and He is truculent but charming at the same time. They have come a long way to figure out what went wrong and what memories are worth to cherish.

Director Grzegorz Chrapkiewicz takes us into this safe and ordinary world of broken relationships based on the text of Agnieszka Osiecka and the music of Maciej Malecki. The big additions here are the stage movement of Paulina Andrzejewska-Damiecka and the multifunctional costumes, and the constantly changing set design of Anna Chadaj. These elements make this journey funny, full of passion, or a lot of sadness. The use of accessories, scarves, benches, and skirts in a fluidity of movement is brilliant, and the handbag moment will stay in my memory for a long time (I will never look at a purse in the same way again). The show is funny and nostalgic, energetic and melancholic, calm and noisy, cynical and sad, pugnacious and reconciled with its destiny. Despite the pain and disappointment, I sincerely believe that this show is a hymn to love showing that in spite of the shadows, it is worth giving yourself to it.

It’s an intimate musical presentation of deep corners of hearts that will make you want to love. Because at the end of the day, every true love is beautiful.

Photo: Dawid Stube