10.03.2022
We have decided to change the most important lines in the most important drama by the most renowned Russian playwright to stress the importance of solidarity with the Ukrainian nation. Today we are all Ukrainians.
The ensemble of „3STRS” and director of the performance – Luk Perceval, have decided to introduce changes to the text of Anton Chekhov’s drama staged in TR Warszawa and the National Stary Theatre in Cracow as a form of protest against Russian military aggression in Ukraine. Starting from the next staging, Chekhov’s characters will not reminisce about Moscow, but of Kyiv – a symbol of a paradise lost, destroyed by war.
We have decided to change the most important lines in the most important drama by the most renowned Russian playwright to stress the importance of solidarity with the Ukrainian nation. Today we are all Ukrainians.In the next set of performances of “3STRS” (March 12-13, March 15-20), Natasha will be played by Oksana Czerkaszyna, a Ukrainian actress associated with Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw. After graduating from the Kharkiv University of Arts she made her debut in the Taras = Shevchenko Drama Theatre in Kharkiv. Oksana Czerkaszyna and Marta Ojrzyńska play the role of Natasha as understudie
About the “3STRS” performance
Three sisters who miss their life in a big city. Three old women who try to stop the time.
Three women who have been banished from the paradise of their childhood. Time and war
have taken everything they’ve had. No airlines fly to the world, they’ve lost. The only way to
get there is on board of one’s own, faulty memory.
Luk Perceval – a Belgian director, one of the most important contemporary theatre-makers,
has produced his first performance in Poland within TR Warszawa international line.
“3STRS” based on the drama by Anton Chekhov, is a portrait of an ageing Europe, that does
not want to give in to the passage of time. The everyday routine of the eponymous sisters is
broken by an attempt to recall events from their past. In a metaphorical rest home, ageing
Europe is confronted by the new energy of the immigrants. What is the result of such a
meeting? What are the political and social consequences of population ageing? How do we
cope with old age, loss of memory, idealized past?
The subject of transience, so characteristic for Chekhov’s works, has never been as valid as
it is today, when the old world order is crumbling and the new one is yet to establish itself.
The pandemic added to the problem of ageing and passing away one more aspect: isolation
of the elderly. And the war – the problem of living in exile. Sisters Prozorov are the castaways of time, stranded on an island of memory. They live in the past, unable to confront the present. What are the protagonists afraid of and what is it that they miss so much? What are we afraid of and what do we miss?
The creators
„3STRS” is co-produced by TR Warszawa and the Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theatre in Cracow. Luk Perceval is the author of the adaptation and the director, set design was created by Philip Bussmann, costumes by Annelies Vanlaere, lights by Mark Van Denesse, music by Karol Nepelski, Karolina Bikont has translated the script; Roman Pawłowski has collaborated on the production on the performance (dramaturgy cooperation). Alek Niemiro, Aleksandra Śliwińska, Amanda Mincewicz and Maja Wisła-Szopińska are the director’s assistants, Jacek Telenga – a literary assistant, Karolina Bramowicz – the costume designer’s assistant, Wojciech Sobolewski and Katarzyna Gaweł are the stage managers, Karolina Pająk-Sieczkowska and Magda Igielska are the production managers. The cast of the performance includes actors and actresses from the TR Warszawa and the National Stary Theatre ensembles: Jacek Beler, Zygmunt Józefczak, Natalia Kalita, Rafał Maćkowiak, Maria Maj, Marta Ojrzyńska, Jacek Romanowski, Małgorzata Zawadzka, Mirosław
Zbrojewicz and Oksana Czerkaszyna (guest appearances). The performance premiered in Cracow on May 15 th , 2021 on the Main Stage in the National Stary Theatre. In Warsaw, the performance had its premiere on June 20 th , 2021 in TR Warszawa/ATM Studio.
The performance premiered in Cracow on May 15 th , 2021 on the Main Stage in the National Stary Theatre. In Warsaw, the performance had its premiere on June 20 th , 2021 in TR Warszawa/ATM Studio.
On TR Online platform you can find interviews with the creators of the performance carried out by Roman Pawłowski – TR Warszawa Director’s plenipotentiary for programme and co- creator of the dramaturgy. “Rehearsing 3STRS” series by Roman Pawłowski can be watched and listened here, reviews and details of the “3STRS” performance are available here.
“3STRS” was widely acclaimed by the critics at domestic and international festivals such as the 29 th International Theatre Festival “Divadlo” in the Czech Republic (September 18, 2021), the 10 th International Theatre Festival “Dialogue” in Wrocław (October 11-12, 2021), the 27 th Festival of Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant in Łódź (October 18-19, 2021), where the audience awarded the Best Show Prize to the performance and the 14 th Divine Comedy International Theatre Festival in Cracow (December 11-12, 2021). What’s more, in 2021 Luk Perceval won the Konrad Świnarski Award for the best director in the 2020/2021 season for „3STRS” and thus he became the third foreign director in history awarded with the Konrad Świniarski Award – after Kornél Mundruczó, awarded in the 2018/2019 season for “Pieces of a Woman” produced by TR Warszawa and Eimuntas
Nekrošius, awarded in the 2015/2016 season for directing “Forefather’s Eve“ produced by the National Theatre in Warsaw.
The next shows of “3STRS” will be staged on March 12-13 and March 15-12 at 19:00 in Warsaw, in the TR Warszawa/ATM Studio venue. Tickets can be purchased here.
TR Warszawa for Ukraine
TR Warszawa is actively helping our sisters and brothers from Ukraine, who became the victims of Russian aggression. We can’t remain indifferent in the face of a humanitarian catastrophe and this armed conflict definitely qualifies as such. Therefore, as an institution, we make every effort to ensure that our actions are not only of symbolic nature but also bring real help.
Our ongoing actions include organization of a collection of various items for Ukrainian citizens to help them defend themselves against Russian aggression. Items can be donated 24/7 in the foyer of the TR Warszawa/Marszałkowska 8 venue. When an adequate amount of items is collected, it is shipped to those in need.
On March 6, 2022, at 19:00 in TR Warszawa/Marszałkowska 8 a special concert “Solidarity with Ukraine” was organized. The line-up included a violin virtuoso – Vadim Brodski, pianist – Rinko Kobayashi and Z LASU – a Warsaw-based music group, who performed traditional songs from the Polesie region. During the concert, funds were raised for the Open Dialogue Foundation.
Also, on account of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, TR Warszawa cancelled the presentations of “PIECES OF A WOMAN” directed by Kornél Mundruczó scheduled to be staged at the Golden Mask Festival in Moscow and “3STRS” directed by Luke Perceval scheduled to be staged at the International Platonov Arts Festival in Voronezh. More details available here. You can find more information about all of our actions and efforts on our website: trwarszawa.pl.
