This Thursday, May 26, we would like to invite you to a ceremony of naming a theatre hall in the Neophilology Building of the University of Gdańsk after prof. Jerzy Limon - an outstanding English scholar, theatrologist and extraordinary lecturer who with great commitment spread knowledge about Shakespeare's works and initiated the construction and first director of the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre. The event will be honoured by the artists staging the performance 'wilLIaM ON my mind' under the direction of Barbara Madana.
The performance is a collective work, created jointly by students, employees of the University of Gdańsk and members of creative groups operating within the Alternator Academic Cultural Centre. Individual scenes, inspired by Shakespearean texts, create a kind of collage presented in an oneiric style. Under the watchful eye of director Barbara Madany, the artists will create a unique atmosphere in the spirit of the works of the outstanding writer from the Avon River.
Dying, falling asleep, dreaming - three alternative states of human consciousness, in which the self opens up to the impossible. The main character is the Dreamer. It is his imagination that will bring to life on stage characters known from Shakespeare's dramas. Macbeth in the company of three witches, Romeo and Juliet, tormented by the hatred of two rival families, the envious Jago from "Othello", or the retinue of forest spirits from "A Midsummer Night's Dream". They will be the perpetrators of stage events, taking place in an irrational dream world, where common sense rules and limitations do not apply.
Some of the texts will be presented in the original, in English, but they will also resound in various translations. Students from the six SEA-EU member universities will read excerpts from the selected drama in their native languages.
The oneiric convention will justify the diversity of individual scenes and the lack of cause-and-effect relations between them. It will also pose the spectator with a question: who is the main character whose dreamlike projections we are watching? Is he a contemporary "Everyman" who, while falling asleep, is haunted by characters known from the books he has read? An artist/creator who, in the moment of a sudden surge of creative energy, unconsciously establishes intertextual links with Shakespeare's works? Or perhaps a researcher who has spent his life studying the texts of the brilliant British playwright and who returns to them in his mind at the moment of death? The artists will leave the answer to this question to the audience. The use of dreams as a compositional device opens the way to ambiguity and allows the audience freedom of interpretation.
On stage we will see and hear:
- Standby Studio Theatre,
- Dance Theatre "Kiosk Ruchu",
- Choir of the University of Gdańsk,
- JANTAR University of Gdańsk Song and Dance Ensemble
- Los Mariscos flamenco dance group
- Vocal Studio of the University of Gdańsk
- Irish and Scottish Dance Group of the University of Gdańsk
- Students of Management of Artistic Institutions, SEA-EU students, Magdalena Komorowska, dr Adam Jagiełło-Rusiłowski.
In addition:
Piotr Charytoniuk - in the role of the Sleeper
Natalia Bartosz, Małgorzata Krzaczyńska, Paulina Pociask - as the Witches
Screenplay and direction: Barbara Madany
Producer: Paulina Tryba
Set Design: Katarzyna Zawistowska
Costumes: Agnieszka Kochańczyk
Multimedia: students of the Academy of Fine Arts under the supervision of Robert Turło
Lighting master: Bartosz Cybowski
The event is organised by the Association of Artistic Initiatives 'Jantar'.
Project co-financed by the City of Gdańsk.
Admission based on free tickets: http://sia-jantar.pl/
