• ATM Studio

The Celebration

dir.Grzegorz Jarzyna
  • Directed by 

    Grzegorz Jarzyna

  • Premiered

    June 5, 2001

  • Duration

    2 h 15 min. (1 intermission)

Attention!

The performance includes some nudity.

About

What will happen when a dark, family secret is revealed? What if such a reveal occurs at father’s 60th birthday party? And what if the head of the family is the key suspect? “The Celebration” directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna uncompromisingly reveals dark ins and outs of family relationships, balancing between tragedy and farce. It is a suspenseful story about the fight for truth – a fight that everyone has to fight for themselves. 

Jarzyna’s groundbreaking performance is based on a renowned movie “Festen” directed by Thomas Vintenberg and Mogens Rukov – the first and best picture of Danish Dogma.

The performance has been successfully presented at major international festivals. The cast includes the most recognized Polish theatre and film actors and actresses: Andrzej Chyra, Jan Peszek, Magdalena Cielecka, Aleksandra Popławska, Marek Kalita, Ewa Dałkowska, Katarzyna Herman, Zygmunt Malanowicz, Adam Woronowicz.

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

Creators

direction and musical arrangement: Grzegorz Jarzyna

text: Mogens Rukov, Thomas Vinterberg

stage adaptation: Bo Hr. Hansen

translation: Elżbieta Frątczak-Nowotny

set design: Małgorzata Szczęśniak

costume design: Magdalena Maciejewska

music: Paweł Mykietyn / Piotr Domiński

choreography: Iwona Olszowska

lighting design: PiotrPawlik / Jacqueline Sobiszewski

director’s assistant: Jacek Poniedziałek / Andrzej Bartnikowski

scenographer’s assistant: Aleksandra Marczewska

Gallery

fot. Kuba Dąbrowski

Reviews

  • “An amazing theatrical machinery, a pure gem.”

    Frederic Ferney, Le Figaro
  • “(…) Grzegorz Jarzyna’s, aka H 7, performance is a shocking accusation against a society that lives in a lie.”

    Roman Pawłowski, Gazeta Wyborcza
  • “Jarzyna, a fan of Hitchcock, turns out to be quite the master of suspense himself. He builds up and stresses the tension, brings the scenes into crescendo and then makes them crash just before the climax. He contrasts mass scenes with individual pictures brilliantly editing them into a whole using movie methods. “The Celebration” becomes a thriller on stage. (…) the entire time something rustles, whispers and crackles spookingly. The music and lights are used to create a distressing atmosphere, there the ghosts of the past are present.”

    Renate Klett, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Tours

St. Ann’s Warehouse, New York (20-29.04.2012)

Jeruzalem Festival, Israel (04-05.06.2004)

Dublin, Ireland (28-31.01.2004)

Festival of the Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant, Łódź (10-11.01.2004)

Spielart, Munich (24-25.10.2004)

Festiwal Lift , London (30.10-02.11.2002)

36. Festiwal Bitef, Belgrade (23-24.09.2002)

56. Festival d’Avignon, France (17-20.07.2002)

Wiener Festwochen, Austria (21-24.05.2002)

Hebbel am Ufer Theater, Berlin (19-21.04.2002)

1st International Theatre Festival „Dialog”, Wrocław (08-10.10.2001)

  • Copyright to the play “The Celebration” is represented in Poland by Elżbieta Manthey ADiT agency.

Patrons