Thursday, October 22 — Sunday, October 25, 2026
Ellen Stewart Theatre at La MaMa
66 East 4th Street (between Bowery and Second Avenue), New York, NY 10003
Tickets
“You don’t watch ‘Untold Wajda: Blokowisko’ so much as get caught in its current – swept through the estate, out the other side, changed.” – (Dance Europe)
Blokowisko revives a lost cinematic vision of Oscar laureate Andrzej Wajda—a true story he heard from an actor in 1972 but never brought to the screen. Marking the centenary of Wajda’s birth, this contemporary dance-theatre work gives the story a body and a voice for the first time, weaving live electronic music, socially charged choreography and immersive three-screen video into a landscape of memory, loss and resilience. Created by composer-performer Blanka Barbara Stahl with BAFTA-winning choreographer Anthony Matsena and producer Ignatius Sokal (UNTOLD Productions), BLOKOWISKO premiered to a sold-out house at London’s Southbank Centre in March 2026 and is presented under the patronage of Krystyna and Daniel Olbrychski, close friends of Andrzej Wajda.
Created by composer-performer Blanka Barbara Stahl with BAFTA-winning choreographer Anthony Matsena (choreographer) and Ignatius Sokal (UNTOLD Productions), BLOKOWISKO premiered to a sold-out house at London’s Southbank Centre in March 2026 and is presented under the patronage of Krystyna and Daniel Olbrychski, close friends of Andrzej Wajda. This US premier is a diplomatic cultural exchange supported by the Polish Cultural Institute New York, and features a new collaboration with Battery Dance. Performances will take place at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 East 4th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC 10003). Runtime is 75 minutes.
Blanka Barbara Stahl (composer, director, dramaturg)
Anthony Matsena (choreography)
Sarah Housepian (rehearsal director)
Ismini Papaioannou (costume and stage design)
Philip Burke (original lighting design)
Lydia Brinkmann (New York lighting adaptation & operation)
-8 (video designer)
Battery Dance cast
Nelson Mejiaa
Kar’mel Antonyo Wade Small
Victoria Sames
Perla Martinez
Jillian Linkowski
Jonathan Colafrencesco
Shannon Harkins
Joe LaLuzerne
Ignatius Sokal (UNTOLD productions executive producer)
Robin Cantrell (Battery Dance producer)
Blanka Barbara Stahl
From five-star operas to underground club nights, composer-performer, music producer Blanka Barbara Stahl fuses acoustic instruments with electronics across theatre, contemporary dance and audio-visual concerts.
Battery Dance
Battery Dance performs, teaches, presents, and advocates for the field of dance on stages and in communities around the world. Founded in New York City in 1976, the Company is dedicated to the pursuit of artistic excellence and making the arts accessible to everyone. An integral part of New York City’s cultural fabric for 50 years, Battery Dance supports artists and the creative process, provides dance education to children in New York City schools, and engages the public through performances, community programs, national and international tours, and international arts exchange initiatives.
About La MaMa
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. La MaMa’s 65th Season, ONENESS, focuses on creating solidarity and community, exploring ways to build connections for cross-sector coalition and invites artists, activists, organizers and community members into the creative process. La MaMa has been honored with 30+ Obie Awards, dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie Awards, Villager Awards, the 2018 Regional Theatre Tony Award, and most recently a 2023 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Special Citation. It serves as a creative home to artists and resident companies from around the world, many of whom have made lasting contributions to the arts, including Blue Man Group, Bette Midler, Ping Chong, Jackie Curtis, Robert De Niro, André De Shields, Adrienne Kennedy, Cole Escola, Bridget Everett, Harvey Fierstein, Diane Lane, Charlotte Brathwaite, Charles Ludlam, Haruna Lee, Tom Eyen, Spiderwoman Theater, Tadeusz Kantor, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Meredith Monk, David and Amy Sedaris, Stephanie Hsu, Julie Taymor, Kazuo Ohno, Tom O’Horgan, Heather Christian, Andrei Serban, Liz Swados, and Andy Warhol. La MaMa’s vision of nurturing new artists and new work from all nations, cultures, races and identities remains as strong today as it was when Ellen Stewart first opened the doors in 1961.
The project is a collaboration between La MaMa and Battery Dance, supported by the Polish Cultural Institute New York as part of a diplomatic cultural exchange the Polish National Foundation (Polska Fundacja Narodowa), and the Schubert Foundation.
