We talk to Jacek Malinowski, Director of BTL, about the theater festival, repertoire shows and premieres in June
Jacek Malinowski, director of the Bialystok Puppet Theater, told us about the June premieres, the theater festival for adults – “Metamorfozy Puppets” and what performances it is worth going to.
June at the Bialystok Puppet Theater is full of performances …
– Jacek Malinowski, Director of the Bialystok Puppet Theatre: June is traditionally the culmination of artistic activities, especially festivals. Between 16 and 24 June we invite you to the Festival of Mutant Puppets, where we will be able to watch about 30 performances, also from our repertoire. As we celebrate our 70th Anniversary this year – presenting a variety of our projects from past seasons. But not only. There will also be guests – theaters, among others. From France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Israel. Independent groups related to our region will appear – Latarnia Theatre, Malabar Hotel Theatre, Grupa Quincidentia, Grupa Wolno. There will also be institutional theaters from Poland – the Miniatura Theater from Gdańsk or the Opole Puppet Theatre. The festival’s repertoire will be rich, dynamic and full of different puppet figures.
In addition to the festival, there will also be other activities.
– Yes, of course. We play repertoire performances and invite children, adolescents and adults to it. Two premieres await us – Łucja Grzeszczyk’s mono-drama “Empty” based on the book by Dorota Kotas and a classic of Polish comedies – “Revenge” based on Fredro.
Just right for this year’s Fredro.
– Honestly, we didn’t plan the premiere with this event in mind. We’ve been talking about this implementation for a long time. Meanwhile, it turns out that the year 2023 will be associated with the author of a work written in verse. We are all excited that we will be able to present to our viewers famous and popular comic characters who emphasize our global communication problems and more… This is a very modern classic situation. Perhaps thanks to this realization, we will realize that it is not worth being a metaphorical builder of walls and walls. Maybe it’s just worth talking about.
You will also go back to the old shows.
– We’ll go back to headlines like “Ah, how cool Panama is!” or “The Simulation”, which we will play as guests. “Simulator” will be a guest at the Walizka International Theater Festival in Lomza, and “Panama” will go to Suwałki, to the local cultural center. Our assortment also includes “Lenka”, “Karmelka” and “Shoemakers”.
This is BTL for adults.
– exactly. The festival “Szewcy” will start, but before that, we will put on a show for the open audience.
What shows do you invite kids to the most?
– There is “Karmlik”, “Lenka”, “Balko”. And which one would I recommend the most? It’s a tough question. I think each of these offers has its own value. Actors leave a lot of talent and health on stage. We want to reach different tastes, people in different age groups. Personally, I really appreciate one of the recent premieres of “Simulator”. The performance refers to the parenting attitude prevalent in our society, which is based on violence. I think it’s worth talking about. It is worth recalling the mistakes of upbringing, especially when they are done with humor. When it comes to animation perfection, Lenka and Palko deserve the viewer’s attention.
They have been played for many years.
Theater approaches vary. There are those who change titles very quickly and discard those that have been in the repertoire for several years. I have a slightly different approach. I think that there are performances of a global dimension and that show the mastery and technique of the artists, you have to play as long as possible. As long as artists can carry these titles on their shoulders while maintaining high quality.
