MOTHERS A SONG FOR WARTIME
Marta Górnicka / CHORUS OF WOMEN FOUNDATION (Warsaw)
Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian with German and English surtitles | Ages 16 and up | Cooperation with Maxim Gorki Theater, Berlin
They are 9 to 71 years young. Women from Ukraine, Poland and Belarus. The Ukrainians, as mothers and daughters directly affected by the Russian invasion, fled the war; the Belarusians fled atrocities. The Poles took them into their homes. The 21 women confront violence with plenty of warmth and solidarity, and with that their concentrated collective vocal power. In MOTHERS, they sing under the direction of the Polish director Marta Górnicka in the tradition of the Schtschedrywka. These are folk songs that wish people luck and happiness, here interwoven with chants, that tell of anger, longing and love. Marta Górnicka directs the choir from within the audience and thus creates a lively connection with the singers. Together they dared to step on stage, because they can no longer hide their feelings and want to write their story themselves, instead of living in the knowledge that their part of truth would be suppressed should the war reports once again be written by the victors and men. As singing protagonists, they call out to us not to forget the war unleashed by Russia on Ukrainian soil. So MOTHERS questions Western Europe’s role: Have you really done enough to support Ukraine? The mothers there would more than like to protect their children and dedicate their Schtschedrywka to them, this ancient Ukrainian rite from pre-Christian times, performed by women and children since time immemorial. But how is that supposed to work if sons and also daughters need to go to the front?
Credits
Concept + direction Marta Górnicka Libretto Marta Górnicka + Ensemble With Katerina Aleinikova, Svitlana Berestovska, Sasha Cherkas, Palina Dabravolskaja, Katarzyna Jaźnicka, Volha Kalakoltsava, Ewa Konstanciak, Lisa Kozlova, Anastasiia Kulinich, Natalia Mazur, Kamila Michalska, Hanna Mykhailova, Valeriia Obodianska, Svitlana Onischak, Yuliia Ridna, Maria Robaszkiewicz, Polina Shkliar, Mariia Tabachuk, Kateryna Taran, Bohdana Zazhytska, Elena Zui-Voitekhovskaya Musical concept + composition Marta Górnicka, traditional Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish music, a quote from Mykola Leontowytsch: Schtschedryk Choreography Evelin Facchini Stage design Robert Rumas Costumes Joanna Załęska Musical collaboration Wojciech Frycz Dramaturgical collaboration Olga Byrska, Maria Jasińska Video + video documentation Michał Rumas, Justyna Orłowska Video projection Michał Jankowski Lights Artur Sienicki Vocal coach Joanna Piech-Sławecka Stage manager + director’s assistant Bazhena Shamovich Choreographer’s assistant Maria Bijak Movement workshop Krystyna Lama Szydłowska Übersetzung ukrainisches Libretto Olesya Mamchych Übersetzung belarusisches Libretto Maria Pushkina English libretto translation Aleksandra Paszkowska German libretto translation Olaf Kühl French libretto translation Cécile Bocianowski Ukrainian ethnomusicology consultation Anna Ohrimchuk Ukrainian children’s games consultation Venera Ibragimova In-rehearsal interpreter Marharyta Huretskaya Surtitles Agnieszka Fietz Producers Marta Kuźmiak, Iwa Ostrowska International tour production Anna Galas-Kosil, Joanna Nuckowska
Production The Chorus of Women Foundation (Warschau), Maxim Gorki Theater (Berlin) Co-production Teatr Powszechny (Warsaw), Festival d’Avignon, Maillon, Théâtre De Strasbourg – Scène européenne, SPRING Performing Arts Festival (Utrecht), Tangente St. Pölten – Festival für Gegenwartskultur Partners Teatr Dramatyczny (Warsaw), Nowy Teatr (Warsaw), For Freedom Foundation (Warsaw) (an independent public non-profit working for migrants from Ukraine, Chechnya, Belarus, Tajikistan who have settled in Warsaw), Przystanek Świetlica ((a recreation center for migrant children and
Support Dieses Projekt wird von der Hauptstadt Warschau und dem Ministry of Culture and National Heritage aus dem Kulturförderungsfonds kofinanziert und in Zusammenarbeit mit der Allianz Foundation umgesetzt.
Guest performance support Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warschau, Polnisches Institut Berlin – Filiale Leipzig
Creation Teatr Powszechny, Warsaw, 29 September 2023
Guest performance support
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and Adam Mickiewicz Institute + Polnisches Institut Berlin Filiale Leipzig
Main Supporters
euro-scene leipzig is institutionally supported by the City of Leipzig and the Saxon State Ministry for Higher Education, Culture and Tourism. Co-financed by tax revenue on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.