The Sabarmati International Contemporary Arts Festival (SICAFA) is hosted by Ahmedabad University and will take place from March 11 to 18. Curated by Deepan Sivaraman and Neena Naishadh, the festival’s main theme is ART LEADS. The theme explores the role of art in reflecting, shaping, and prompting human progress and how artists guide us toward new understandings.
For the SICAFA 2025 edition, the Country of Focus is Poland.
Teatr Biuro Podróży will present on the 15th of March at 7 pm and on the 16th of March at 8.30 pm performance Carmen Funebre. Members of the theatre will also conduct workshops on street theatre for Ahmedabad University students.
The idea for the spectacle and the spectacle itself was created at the time when the civil war was going on in Yugoslavia. In this poignant and visually stunning performance, Teatr Biuro Podróży employs universal metaphors to convey the poignant fate of exiles. “Carmen Funebre” unfolds as a non-linear narrative, transcending the boundaries between reality and the metaphysical. This captivating performance combines spectacular elements, such as stilts, fire, and lighting effects, to create an immersive experience.This powerful storytelling approach moves the audience, eliciting fear, sympathy, and introspection.
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS about the play:
· ‘An unforgettable dramatisation of war’ – The Observer
· ‘The overall impact is devastating’ – Daily Telegraph
· ‘Literally set the Fringe alight with its spectacular brand of outdoor theatre’ – Sunday Express
· ‘A masterpiece’ – The Scotsman
· ‘The Polish company’s reaction to the insanity of the war in Bosnia was one of the most compelling pieces of theatre l have ever seen’ – Steven Berkoff in Evening Standard
· ‘It is the powerful simplicity of Carmen Funebre’s epic indictment of civil war in Bosnia that lingers’ – The Herald
· Terrifying and highly recommended’ – The Guardian
· ‘Upsetting, beautiful and completely unmissable’ – The Independent
· Polish company Teatr Biuro Podrozy stage a spectacle reaching beyond history for the eternal, as Polish theater directors (c.f. Tadeusz Kantor) have always done. – Village Voice, N.Y.
· A haunting view of man’s inhumanity. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Chicago Sun Times
· Szkotak’s theatre successfully re-imagines the traditions of the morality and mystery plays. His form is informed by the experience of the twentieth century—a century of violence, totalitarianism, the Holocaust. – Theatre Forum
· If ever a play made you gasp “Mine eyes dazel”, it was Teatr Biuro Podrozy’s “Carmen Funebre”, or funeral song. Its witchery of passion, pathos and the macabre, merging the real with the surreal, at once brought Webster to mind. – The Hindu
· Loaded with almost deadly authencity- El Universal
· A contemporary performance created with theatrical skill and the sensitivity of an open nerve – a poetic piece devoid of euphemism – El Espectador
Teatr Biuro Podróży was founded in Poznań in 1988 by Paweł Szkotak. The theatre has developed its method of working on a performance and a recognizable theatrical style. It has participated in the world’s largest theatre festivals and presented its performances in almost 60 countries on six continents.
To learn more about the theatre, please visit: https://www.tbp.org.pl
