Review: RIGHT YOU ARE! IF YOU THINK SO at Teatr Polski In Wroclaw

A show created within the framework of the international project Inclusion Of Minorities - Include a Minority, implemented and financed by the MF EOG 2014-2021 and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The project was prepared in partnership with the Norwegian independent theater company B. Valiente. Luigi Pirandello's classic drama Right You Are (if you think so) is the starting point for the two shows in Wroclaw and Oslo. Based on social research conducted in Norway and Poland, two variants of the scenario were created, showing the relationships between the Ukrainian minority in Poland and the Polish minority in Norway. The Wroclaw show is directed by Gianluca Iumiento and Norwegian by Marcelino Martin Valiente.

The first one puts all sorts of topics in the show. There is a comedy, retrospection, a wedding, a funeral, a bar, an intimate interview with Pirandella, drama, reality, humor, politics, a war picture, dreams, personal dramas... We get involved by live internet voting, the director himself is on the stage struggling with artistic choices. Actors are changing their parts so quickly that change is the only constant here. In the beginning, it's quite confusing but once you let go of the rules you got it right. I think that this is what the show is about, fighting rules at all possible levels.

We start with a wedding and a difficult attempt to engage the audience, we are intimidated, and a little bit too confused to break the barrier between an engaged stage and a comfortable, disengaged audience chair. We don't want to get out of our comfort zone but we will be pushed around many times. A challenge for the audience and the actors.

The scenography and costumes (by Marianna Lisiecka Syska) are interesting and well-blended with the action of the play. Grey and white with some colorful accents are well thought out and consistent. The cheery on the cake from the visual point of view is an excellent light design (by Jakub Fraczek), lights are making an accurate atmosphere and this dance with flash moods is always to the point.

Some parts are too direct for my taste, and I wonder if there is a limit to what we can say and show at this breaking point in modern history. The question is whether what is shown too soon and whether we aren't too close, but the theater is there to ask questions and I thank it for that.

Bartosz Bulawa plays director most of the time but I would call him a host/driver. He's driving the show as a brisk car on a highway, fast and slow, with some dangerous turns, and surprising obstacles but always smooth and with great impact. For some reason, you feel safe even when craziness is taking over. He had an extremely difficult role and rose to the challenge with great energy and curiosity of discovering. The biggest surprise for me, if we are talking actors, is Ernest Nita, that joined the Teatr Polski ensemble in 2021. His performance is very fresh and energetic in every part he has. There is a kind of vulnerability exposed with strong passion and implacable power that is unwavering. Every second of his appearance on the stage is a pure pleasure. Truth be told, the whole ensemble is great. Agata Skowronska is delightful as always, Maciej Gisman is greatly energetic, Krzysztof Franieczek steps into a politician's shoes wonderfully, Marian Czerski is one of the best dictators I've ever seen on the stage, Klementyna Umer is very convincing, Anna Haba has great stage dominancy that I admire a lot.

Another interesting twist is that some non-professionals were cast after the Ukrainian-Polish theatrical workshop (Mila Dorozhko, Eilza Yakunina, Daria Salna, and Andrij Nazarczuk) which add a breath of fresh air to the show. They are like snowflakes, kind of unique, melting on the stage with grace and freshness.

The subjects that are presented on the stage could not be more accurate. War, personal interest, loneliness, wanting to help, and feeling of losing or gaining something simultaneously. Tyranny. Abuse. Abortion. Lies. Life goes on. The stage is like a mirror and a thinking trigger mixes with a great sense of humor. One thing is sure, this show will evaluate in its way. In a year we will look at it differently. Your mission is done theater, great job, you got us thinking.

Photo: M. Plywacz