The article is an attempt to define how the mechanisms of persuasion function in Monika Strzępka’s and Paweł Demirski’s play W imię Jakuba S. The director and the playwright are representatives of engaged theatre. In their work, they oppose neoliberalism and, above all, the unfulfillable promises it makes. As a result, despite democracy, the phenomenon of serfdom appears again – this time in a form of bank credit. The creators of the performance, apart from expressing views, want to stimulate the viewer to take a critical look at capitalism. In order to do so, they use both verbal and non-verbal means of persuasion.
The article constitutes an analysis of Krzysztof Garbaczewski’s performance Possessed based on Witold Gombrowicz’s novel of the same title. The aim of the article is to present the staging that puts Possessed in the context of contemporary humanistic discourses and to reflect on the aesthetic of the performance. The goal is also to analyze the disillusioning tricks used by the director, to point out the convention plays presented in the spectacle and to illustrate the self-referential function of the stage space. The text also outlines the director’s adaptation strategy and the use of narration in the staging.
The article is an attempt to describe some of the most important transparent constructions in Krystian Lupa’s theatre and to explain their functions. In the text, I focused on the main and most frequently repeated transparent elements of the scenography; prisms (which fulfil the role of internal frames), transparent walls (places where actors are peeping over), and bars and grids which suggest closing some space off or isolating the actors.
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