CAST:
Greta – Dorota Frumaniuk
Greta (alter ego) / Antelope – Katarzyna Janek [g]
Captain Cod / Brother Bear – Rafał Kosowski
Antoni / Queen Bee – Joanna Łaganowska
Turtle Svante Olaf August Arrhenius – Ryszard Węgrzyn

It has been the fourth time Teatr Dramatyczny im. J. Szaniawskiego realized a performance in the frame of Konkurs im. Jana Doramana (Jan Dorman Contest) organized by Instytut Teatratrlny im. Z. Raszewskiego in Warsaw.

After the successes of previous Dorman editions in Wałbrzych and thanks to experience gained while creating performances for a younger audience, this time The Theatre would like to propose an ecological, non-pedagogical and non-didactical production in anarchic and dynamic form.

„GRETA AND THE LAST WHALE” is a production which looks for a language for a meeting between pupils, a young audience world with a critical and engaged art. The creators state that the subjects they want to bring up in their work is social responsibility, activism and courage, ecology and climate hazards. The performance that was played in schools in Wałbrzych 25 times is focused on the child subjectivity issue, especially the one created in school.

„GRETA…”  described as an ecological fable or a fantasy crime novel is a story about the title character who, forced by circumstances, tries to solve the mystery of THE WHALE disappearance. She, with a guide, leads the audience through a school labyrinth – a world – and discovers consecutive victims of a planet, nature and future battles. The performance sets in the nearest future, which is twofold: the world of the story is real, resembling one of European countries – and, at the same time, fantabulous with postapocalyptic features.

Will Greta, the character based on a figure and activity of a young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, manage to save the last whale? The creators of the performance make no secret of the fact that without the help of young spectators, their engagement and changes in their views, the answer would be sad. With this work they want to start a discussion about threats the human race deliver to the environment and our responsibility for those processes.

Teatr Dramatyczny proposes a project about activism, human responsibility and about taking a position. „GRETA AND THE LAST WHALE” wants to defy a common belief, that „children should be seen and not heard”. On the contrary, Szaniawski’s team believes that the ones who’ll save the world are children…

PREMIERE: 15th October 2019 in Primary School and Nursery Unit no 4,
ul. 11 listopada 75 in Wałbrzych.

The production was part-financed within the framework of Konkurs im. J. Dormana, organized by Instytut Teatralny im. Z. Raszewskiego and from the funds of Urząd Marszałkowski Wojewódzctwa Dolnośląskiego (Local Government of Lower Silesian Voivodeship).

KONKURS im. JANA DORMANA

The Contest for a production presented at schools results from a necessity of enhancing the artistic quality of performances shown at educational institutions. The idea of the contest is school support by creating a wide and varied performances offer prepared with a view to age and needs of pupils and specific school conditions on one side and, on the other, support of theatres mobility and being open for challenges of a direct contact with a spectator beyond the walls of their institution. The patron of the contest is Jan Dorman – a renowned creator of a Polish theatre, a director and educator, a long-time director of Teatr Dzieci Zagłębia in Będzin.
The contest is organized by Insytut Teatralny im. Z. Raszewskiego.

Further information: www.dorman.e-teatr.pl

The performance takes part in 26. Ogólnopolski Konkurs na Wystawienie Polskiej Sztuki Współczesnej (26th National Competition of Staging Polish Modern Drama).

The aim of Competition is to award the most interesting repertoires in Polish theatre, support a domestic dramaturgy in their stage realisations and popularise Polish modern drama. The Competition is organised by Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and Instytut Teatralny im. Z. Raszewskiego.

In the first stage of the competition the performances were evaluated by the Artistic Council consisting of: Jan Karow, Katarzyna Lemańska, Andrzej Lis, Kamila Łapicka, Sabina Zygmanowska, Michał Mizera, Jacek Sieradzki (chairman).