Shakespeare & Poland Festival 22-23 June 2024
Stratford-Upon-Avon
The Polish Cultural Institute in London, is delighted to return to Stratford-upon-Avon to another edition of the Shakespeare & Poland Festival, celebrating the cultural connections between Britain and Poland and showcasing Polish culture to British audiences through literary, musical and theatre events organised in the iconic birthplace of Britain’s most famous writer & dramatist, William Shakespeare.
The Festival is organised by the Polish Cultural Institute in London together with Copernicana CIC.
Programme (Quick Booking Links) For more detailed event descriptions, read on below
* 22nd June 7pm – Made of Stone Theatre Production
* 23rd June 10:30am & 12pm – Venetian Mask-making Workshops
* 23rd June 11:30am- 12pm – Folk Reflections Walkabout Performance
*23rd June 3pm – “TRANSFORMATIONS – Shakespeare’s theatre in Poland and the woman’s voice” – Panel Discussion
*23rd June 7pm – “From Poland with Music” Concert
Day 1 – 22 June
Theatre Production, “Made of Stone”, 7pm, Stratford Playhouse
“Made of Stone” is a captivating theatrical production for all ages, blending forgotten tales and legends in a magical mountain kingdom. Encounter stunning forests and mystical creatures brought to life through amazing masks and unique costumes, set to the enchanting music of Polish composers.
Follow the story of a romantic hero determined to rescue his beloved, who has been kidnapped by an evil spirit. Vowing to never forget her, he collects a stone for each moment she slips from his memory. As years pass and the stones accumulate, the young man himself begins to turn to stone.
One fateful day, a mysterious parcel adorned with a bow from his beloved’s dress floats down the river, revealing a map. Where does it lead? Will it guide him back to his lost love?
Based on Polish highland legends, ‘Made of Stone’ demonstrates deep parallels with the dramatic and poetic storytelling used by William Shakespeare. Similarly to Shakespeare’s plays, here too, audiences can trace the dramatic journey of the hero, witness his internal transformation and his confrontation with the twists of fate as well as witness universal themes and motifs and the use of language rich with symbols and metaphors.
Presented by Krakow’s acclaimed street theatre company “Scena Kalejdoskop”.
Suitable for Adults & Children (Recommended for ages 8+)
Tickets (£10/£7): Made of Stone at Stratford Play House event tickets from TicketSource
About Scena Kalejdoskop
Scena Kalejdoskop was established in 2004 in Krakow by actor and director Piotr Kulczyk. The theatre company’s passion and commitment has resulted in several theater hits including a street and open-air spectacle with the participation of actors on stilts entitled “The Heart of Don Juan” – staged in nearly two hundred Polish cities.
Day 2- 23 June
Venetian Mask-Making Workshops for Adults & Children, 10:30am & 12pm
Inspired by Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice”, this mask-making workshop, under the guidance of experienced instructors from Poland, will allow participants to create their own masks and learn techniques such as modelling, painting, and decoration.
The workshops are open to everyone—both literature enthusiasts and those who would like to try their hand at traditional crafts. No prior experience is required, only a willingness to engage in creative work and exploration.
Organised in partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company, 10:30am-11:30am & 12pm-1pm, Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Tickets: FREE/ booking required
Making Masks Workshop | Royal Shakespeare Company (rsc.org.uk)
Please note an additional FREE Event will follow after the end of the first workshop. At 11:30am the:
Folk Reflections, Walkabout Performance will take place in Bancroft Terrace outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
FREE / no booking required.
11.30am – 12 midday
The performance will give audiences the chance to admire, meet and take a photograph with a group of larger than life puppets (on stilts) wearing colourful, traditional folk dress from different regions of Poland.
Through this performance we would also like to make a contribution to Refugee Week, which takes place this year between the 17th-23rd June 2024 under the theme of ‘Our Home’ – “Home can be a place of refuge, a feeling or a state of mind. It can be found in smells, tastes and sounds. From the clothes we wear to the words we grew up with. It’s in food, music and arts. It’s in our cultures and in our landscapes”. (Refugee Week Website)
The puppets in the Folk Reflections Performance will reflect this theme through their colourful and traditional outfits which will be instantly recognisable to anyone from the Polish community as symbols of their cultural heritage and their ‘Home’ and offer an invitation to reflect on their own migrant journeys to the UK, as well as acting as an opportunity for non-Polish communities in Stratford Upon Avon to interact with and be introduced to Polish culture and the Polish community in Stratford.
Check out What else is included as part of Warwickshire Refugee Week 2024
“TRANSFORMATIONS – Shakespeare’s theatre in Poland and the woman’s voice” – Panel Discussion, 3pm
A conversation between leading performers, directors and writers, exploring Shakespeare’s unique impact in Poland and some of the revolutionary Polish stagings that have re-imagined his greatest characters and challenged our understanding of the nature of gender, on the stage and in the world.
The conversation will also look at stagings of Shakespeare from the perspective of female directors – in 21st-century theatre, women directors have gained greater visibility and acclaim and many have repeatedly staged Shakespeare’s plays, achieving national and international recognition for their work.
Joining us for the discussion, will be, amongst others, Dame Janet Suzman as well as internationally renowned theatre and opera director Helena Kaut-Howson, who will talk about her revolutionary staging of award-winning actor Kathryn Hunter as King Lear in the 1997 production of the play at the Young Vic when Kathryn became the first English-speaking woman to take on the titular role of King Lear. (Hunter is also known for tackling other great Shakespearean male roles, including Richard III and Timon of Athens.)
Both Dame Janet Suzman and Helena Kaut-Howson will also speak about their extraordinary careers and will discuss the ways in which Shakespeare’s writing about women has released innumerable possibilities for artists’ self-expression that continue to challenge centuries of gender stereotyping and social limitation.
There will also be insight from scholars Professor Tiffany Stern (The Shakespeare Institute), Professor Elizabeth Schafer (Royal Holloway University of London) and Aneta Mancewicz (Royal Holloway University of London), as well as a dramatic performance from actress Hara Yannas of one of Poland’s most recognisable literary texts inspired by Shakespeare, the beautiful and almost forgotten one-woman play, ‘The Death of Ophelia’ written by Stanislaw Wyspianski.
The converstation is organised in partnership with The Shakespeare Institute
Panellists will include: Dame Janet Suzman, Helena Kaut-Howson, Professor Elizabeth Schafer (moderator), Professor Tiffany Stern, Aneta Mancewicz and actress Hara Yannas
3-5 pm, Stratford Town Hall
Tickets, FREE, booking required: TRANSFORMATIONS – Shakespeare’s theatre in Poland and the Woman’s voice (Panel Discussion) at Stratford Town Hall event tickets from TicketSource
Please note that this event may overrun slightly and finish slightly past 5pm.
Concert – “From Poland with Music”, 7pm
Join us for an enchanting summer evening exploring Poland’s lively and varied musical tradition through light and lyrical works of some of the country’s greatest composers presented on the piano & violin.
The concert will feature works by Fryderyk Chopin, Henryk Wieniawski, Grażyna Bacewicz and Wojciech Kilar.
They will be performed by talented and established musicians Anna Szałucka (piano) and Jaga Klimaszewska (violin), both of whom have made significant impacts on the international music scene, bringing the richness of Polish musical heritage to audiences around the world.
7pm, followed by a Reception (drinks & canapes)
Stratford Town Hall
* All proceeds from Ticket sales will be donated to The Shakespeare Hospice *
Tickets (£14): https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/stratford-upon-avon/stratford-town-hall/from-poland-with-music/2024-06-23/19:00/t-jzpkvee
Performers:
Anna Szałucka is a Polish pianist and collaborator based in London, known for her innovative cross-arts productions and new musical formats. She has released eight critically acclaimed albums, including “A Century of Polish Piano Miniatures” and “The Hourglass,” featuring new commissions and her own compositions. In 2021, she founded the Piano Phase Project, bringing music installations to contemporary venues. A winner of multiple awards, including the 1st Prize at the 3rd Tallinn International Piano Competition, Anna also serves as a chamber music coach at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Jaga Klimaszewska, born in Gdansk, Poland, began studying violin at age seven. After graduating from the F. Nowowiejski Music School in 2009, she moved to London to continue her musical education, earning a Bachelor’s degree from Guildhall School of Music and Drama and a Master’s degree from the Royal College of Music. Jaga has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe in renowned venues like Cadogan Hall, Royal Festival Hall, and the Musikverein in Vienna. She has collaborated with esteemed artists such as Maxim Vengerov and Peter Herresthal and released her debut album with pianist Mateusz Rettner in 2019.
All of this year’s festival posters have been designed by Babak Safari https://babaksafari.com , apart from the one above for Made of Stone, which is the property of Scena Kalejdoskop
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