• Marszałkowska 8

The Bat

dir.Kornél Mundruczó
  • Directed by 

    Kornél Mundruczó

  • Text

    Kata Wéber / Kornél Mundruczó

  • Premiered

    September 20, 2012

  • Duration

    2 h 15 min (no intermission)

  • Tickets

    Normal ticket: 120 PLN
    Concessionary ticket: 85 PLN
    Normal group ticket (over 10 people): 105 PLN
    Concessionary group ticket (over 10 people): 75 PLN

     

Attention!

The performance uses strobe lights and includes some nudity.

About

In the dead of winter several people who have never met before are gathering in an unsettling, cold, hospital-like building in a remote location to celebrate the upcoming New Year’s Eve. The preparations for the last night of the year are accompanied by the sweet strains of the operetta “Die Fledermaus” (“The Bat”) by Johann Strauss, Jr. Many of the guests had to make quite a few sacrifices to get there. They were ready to give up a lot, even risk their reputation. Some of them are young, some are old, some are married, some – single. The only thing they have in common is curiosity – they are most keen to find out whether a human being can handle divine freedom.

Kornel Mundruczó and TR Warszawa ensemble have created a classical buffo opera. With a performance based on the text written at the time when Nietzsche announced that God is dead, the Hungarian director discusses the issue of “godless death” and asks the same old question: if and to what extent we are allowed to decide on or own existence? 


For organized post-gymnasium school groups we offer introductory workshops to the performance (please contact the education department edukacja@trwarszawa.pl) for more details).

Twórcy i twórczynie

director: Kornél Mundruczó

script: Kata Wéber / Kornél Mundruczó

translation: Jolanta Jarmołowicz

set and costume design: Márton Ágh

music: János Szemenyei


dramaturgy: Gábor Thury

lights and video: Kornél Mundruczó

  • In the performance fragments of “The Bat” translated by Julian Tuwim are used.

  • Prawa autorskie tłumaczki Jolanty Jarmołowicz do sztuki “Nietoperz” reprezentuje Agencja Dramatu i Teatru ADiT.

Production

director’s assistant: Paweł Kulka

stenographer’s assistant: Maja Skrzypek

Gallery

Photo by Kuba Dąbrowski

Reviews

  • “ To say that Mundruczó’s performance is perfect is to say nothing at all. “The Bat ” is like a never-ending dance on the edge of a knife, pirouette at the verge of a chasm, race along the border between dignity and disgrace. Actors surprise us with their versatility when they swiftly morph from realistic acting to grotesque, operetta-like conventions. They change moods as if they are zapping through channels, making the audience totally confused. Jocular seriousness or serious joke – they own it ”

    Roman Pawłowski, Gazeta Wyborcza
  • “Mundruczó achieves an amazing feat. By stirring up a music/theatre storm, he forces death to take a look at itself in the mirror of a silly operetta. (…) You can gobble up “The Bat” like a perverse game, an entertainment carrying a horrifying stigma. But not for long. Soon, you’ll start thinking: Can it be that Kornél Mundruczó tore down the door, that had been nailed shut by the Polish theatre so far? Door that lead to important topics begging to be discussed with a bit of humor and in an attractive form, yet seriously?”

    Jacek Wakar, Wprost

Awards

  • The Guarantees of Culture Awards 2013 in “Theatre” category

    Kornél Mundruczó and TR Warszawa actors ensemble for a collaborative creation in “The Bat”.

  • Grand Prix

    At 53rd Kalisz Theatre Encounters for the actor’s ensemble

Tours

6th International Theatre Festival Divine Comedy (15.12.2013)

53rd Kalisz Theatre Encounters (11.05.2013)

6th Coast of Art Festival, Gdańsk (28-29.04.2013)

Partners

  • In cooperation with the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw and co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Patrons