06.03.2023
‘Pieces of a Woman’ is on the programme of the Wiener Festwochen. The Austrian premiere of Kornél Mundruczó’s play, produced with TR Warszawa on the basis of a script by Kata Wéber, will take place on 14 May. Further shows will take place from 15 – 18 May. This will be TR Warszawa’s return to the Festival programme after 18 years.
About festival
The Wiener Festwochen is one of the most important Festivals of theatre, opera, music, dance and visual arts in Europe, to which artists from all over the world are invited. From 12 May to 21 June, Austria’s largest arts festival will once again take to the stages throughout Vienna. The festival commissions, initiates and supports artistic visions that touch upon themes of the present day, broadening perspectives on its perception. Its programme includes presentations of cultural and socio-politically engaged works, making Vienna the capital of intellectual debate on contemporary issues. The artistic director of the Wiener Festwochen is Christophe Slagmuylder.
In addition to ‘Pieces of a Woman’, this year’s programme will include new productions by Toshiki Okada, Jullien Gosselin, Susanne Kennedy and Markus Selga, ‘Antigone Im Amazonas’ directed by Milo Rau, the future artistic director of the Festival, or the opera ‘Lulu’, directed by Marlene Monteiro Freitas, commissioned by the Festival. There will also be big-name productions such as ‘Kingdom’, directed by Anne-Cécile Vandalem, and Complicité’s international co-production ‘Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead’, directed by Simon McBurney and based on the novel by Olga Tokarczuk.
With the screening of ‘Pieces of a Woman’, TR Warszawa will return to the festival programme after 18 years. Previously, we presented ‘The Celebration’ by Grzegorz Jarzyna in 2002, ‘Clara’s Relationships’ in 2004 and ‘The Dybbuk’ directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski in 2005.
About performance
A feminist family drama set in present day Warsaw, powered by the strength and determination of female characters. A family get-together shows, as if through a lens, the problems and internal conflicts of Polish society.
The protagonist of the play, 30-year-old Maja struggles with a personal tragedy. In order to get back on track, she must question her old life and rebuild from scratch the relationships with her family. “Pieces of a Woman” is an evocative picture of modern women who fight for the right to decide about their own life. Kornél Mundruczó – director, and Kata Weber – author of the script, portrait each character with great empathy – they don’t judge or criticize any of the characters gathered around the family table. The performance employs cinematographic means of expression and captivates the viewers with intimate narrative, the realism of the details and tenderness of the actor’s creations. “Pieces of a Woman” is a second, after “The Bat” (premiere 2012, prod. TR Warszawa), Kornél Mundruczó’s play produced in Poland. Both performances have gained recognition of Polish and international audiences.
Directed by Kornél Mundruczó, based on a text and dramaturgy by Katy Wéber, translated by Jolanta Jarmołowicz, the play stars Dobromir Dymecki, Monika Frajczyk, Magdalena Kuta, Sebastian Pawlak, Marta Ścisłowicz, Justyna Wasilewska and Agnieszka Żulewska. The set and costumes were created by Monika Pormale, the lighting director is Paulina Góral and the music was composed by Asher Goldschmidt.
Since the show’s premiere on 13 December 2018, it has been enduringly popular with audiences both in Poland and around the world. To date, it has been staged at the Festival d’Avignon in France, the Athens Festival in Greece, the Thalia Theather in Hamburg, the Spring Festival Budapest in Hungary, the World Theater Festival Brno in the Czech Republic, and in guest programmes at theatres such as the International Theater Amsterdam, the Comédie de Genève in Switzerland and the Centro Dramáatico Nacional di Madrid in Spain.
