“ONCO” at the Sopot Non-Fiction 2021 Documentary Theatre and Artist Residency Festival

“ONKO” directed by Weronika Szczawińska in the program of the Festival of Documentary Theatre and Artistic Residency Sopot Non-Fiction 2021.

As part of the program of the 10th Festival of Documentary Theater and Artistic Residency Sopot Non-Fiction, on August 26 at 20:00 at the Wybrzeze Theater, a screening of the TR Warsaw production “ONCO” directed by Weronika Szczawińska will take place. It is worth reminding that the performance, made by Weronika Szczawińska together with Sebastian Pawlak, actor, Piotr Wawr jr., playwright, Karol Radziszewski (creator of set and costumes) and Agata Maszkiewicz, who is responsible for the movement and cooperates conceptually on the creation of the performance, was developed as a project within the artistic residency Sopot Non Fiction 2020. The Sopot screening of “ONCO” takes place within the framework of TR ON TOUR 2021, right after the presentation of the performance at the Noorderzon Festival of Performing Arts & Society in Groningen (Holland) on 18-21 August 2021.

The 10th Sopot Non-Fiction will also include a performance co-produced with TR Warsaw by Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy. Aleksander Zelwerowicz in Warsaw – “THE CLUB” directed by Weronika Szczawińska, which was created on the initiative and with the participation of fourth-year students of the Acting Faculty of the Warsaw Theatre Academy, Julia Biesiada, Julia Borkowska, Maria Kozłowska, Katarzyna Lis, Adrianna Maleckan, Magdalena Sildatk, Bernadetta Statkiewicz, Monika Szufladowicz, Helena Urbańska and Emilia Walus. The screening of “THE CLUB” at the 10th Sopot Non-Fiction Festival will take place on August 23rd at 20:00 on the Small Stage of Teatr Wybrzeże. More about the play you can read here.

SOPOT NON-FICTION 2021

Sopot Non-Fiction is a unique review devoted to documentary theater. The formula of this first review in Poland dedicated to the theater of fact combines the idea of the festival with creative workshops. During the artistic residency, directors, playwrights, actors and actresses work on theater projects based on reportages, interviews, press articles and other documentary materials. The audience also takes an active part in the workshops and participates in the creative process. Every year the creative work ends with Non-Fiction Marathon – a two-day show in a formula of work in progress. The Marathon is also attended by curators and representatives of theaters from all over Poland. Thanks to this, young artists have the opportunity to continue working on the processes initiated during the Festival. In addition to the artistic residency, the Sopot Non-Fiction Festival is also a presentation of performances, both those created as a result of previous editions of the festival, as well as autonomous productions, representing the current of documentary theater. The curators of the festival are Adam Nalepa (director, artistic director of BOTO Theatre Foundation), Adam Orzechowski (director, director of Wybrzeże Theatre in Gdańsk, Roman Pawłowski (curator, playwright, plenipotentiary for programming of TR Warszawa).

This year’s anniversary edition of the Festival of Documentary Theatre and Artist Residency Sopot Non-Fiction takes place between 21 and 28 August 2021. It will be attended by 35 artists and filmmakers. Non-Fiction Marathon will take place on 27 and 28 August at the Chamber Stage of Teatr Wybrzeże. The program of this year’s festival also includes three meetings “Sopot Non – Fiction: the manual. How to do documentary theater?” with the participation of: Dorota Androsz, Sylwia Góra, Katarzyna Kalwat, Michał Pabian, Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk, Radosław Stępień, Weronika Szczawińska, Anna Tomczyńska (part 1 and part. 3, i.e. a meeting with guests from previous editions of Sopot Non-Fiction); Adam Nalepa, Adam Orzechowski, Roman Pawłowski (part 2, i.e. a meeting with the festival’s curators), musical improvisations by residents from Belarus and a meeting with the festival’s special guest, Joanna Krakowska, titled “Documentary theatre”. “The Theatre of the Document”.

ONCO

The play “ONKO”, directed by Weronika Szczawińska, is based on personal experiences that brought together the director and Sebastian Pawlak, an actor at TR Warszawa. What turned out to be the most difficult, instilled in them the belief that even the darkest scenario of life can be changed and a new role can be played.

The performance will feature Sebastian Pawlak and Weronika Szczawińska, who are also co-authors of the script together with Piotr Wawr jr, the playwright and author of the musical arrangement of the performance. The co-creators and co-writers of the play are: Karol Radziszewski (creator of the set and costumes) and Agata Maszkiewicz, who is responsible for the movement and collaborates conceptually in the creation of the play. The costumes were made by Aleksandra Andrychowicz, the assistant directors are: Malwina Szumacher (until 31 December 2020) and Katarzyna Gawryś-Rodriguez (from 1 January 2021), the stage manager is Piotr Piotrowicz and the production manager is Karolina Pająk-Sieczkowska.

The project was developed as part of the Sopot Non Fiction 2020 artistic residency. Originally, the premiere of “ONCO” with live audience participation was to take place in December 2020, but due to pandemic restrictions the premiere was moved to March this year. Due to the subsequent temporary closure of theaters for the public in the Mazovia region announced in the early spring of this year, the premiere of “ONCO” with the participation of the public, planned for March 19, has been moved to June 19 on the stage of TR Warszawa/Marszałkowska 8. The play’s online premiere took place on March 21, and was broadcast live from the stage of TR Warszawa/Marszałkowska 8 via the TR Online platform. The transmission was directed by film director Jagoda Szelc. You can read reviews of the show and interviews with the director here.

TR ON TOUR 2021

The showings of “ONCO” directed by Weronika Szczawińska at Sopot Non-Fiction are a part of this year’s tour of TR Warszawa to the most important theater festivals in Poland and Europe. Before the Sopot showings, “ONKO” will also visit the Noorderzon Festival of Performing Arts & Society in Groningen, about which you can read more here.

This year’s tour began with the screening of “THE FEMALE PARTICLES” directed by Kornél Mundruczó in France at the 75th Festival d’Avignon in July this year. The TR Warszawa team will also travel with “THE FEMALE PARTICLES” to Athens (August), Rome (September) and Vilnius (September), and with “3STRS” directed by Luka Perceval to Plzen (September).

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