ALICJA ON THE EDGE

• INFORMATION
• GALLERY

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First reading in the case of Alicja T.

When she starts talking, there’s no stopping her. She’s a smart girl, but she’s too young to understand many things. She’s a soldier. No, she’s no soldier! But she lost her sight just like a soldier on a battlefield. She’s a prophet. No, she’s no prophet. She’s Mother Goose. No, she’s not. Who are you? Me? Right now I’m not really sure who I am, Sir. I could tell you who I was just this morning, but so much has changed since then. And how would you describe yourself? Fat, humble, bespectacled. Oh, and one more thing: I’m on the verge of a mental meltdown.

The script that emerged from our rehearsals is a literary-journalistic mash-up, as is typical for TERAZ POLIŻ. The text was the outcome of a search for women and femininity in Catholic culture, arising from the need to find a new female prophet, and research into the lives of saints. These pursuits led us to Alicja Tysiąc, who - like a “real” mother - gave birth to a child despite severe health risks involved. One would expect that not only her daughter who was born in result, but the entire nation would adore Alicja from then on - the woman whose sacrifice became the ultimate gift that a mother can give to her child. She could well be a saint, like Joanna Berta Molla - an Italian martyred mother. She found her place, however, at the other end of the spectrum - in a feminist pantheon, after she chose to fight for the right to abort the pregnancy citing her medical condition. In their production TERAZ POLIŻ transplanted the since forgotten Alicja into Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland.
Will she find refuge there?
Will the fairy tale realm get the better of her just like the Polish media did?
It’s no secret that everyone wants to make money off Alicja Tysiąc.
Take Weekly “Wprost”. Or Daily “Gazeta Wyborcza”.
Even Alicja Tysiąc herself wants to make money off herself.

Read by Dorota Glac, Marta Jalowska, Adrianna Kornecka, Emanuela Osowska, Kamila Worobiej
Script by TERAZ POLIŻ and Agata Trzebuchowska
Directed by Agata Trzebuchowska
Music by Anna Bojara (saw)
Poster design by Dorota Glac

​9.07.2013, WARSawy Theatre, Warsaw

photo: Kasia Chmura-Cegiełkowska | teatralna.com