G O G O L - m i m e p e r f o r m a n c e
On that snowy morning Rene decided that before going to the office he would visit Jacques the tailor,
even if it meant taking a small detour. He could no longer carry on repairinghis totally worn out coat.
That visit would change the course of his life.
However, not because of the looks that Pierrette, the tailor's young daughter would give him.
The cause of his suffering was a lot more simple... At least according to everyone around him.
even if it meant taking a small detour. He could no longer carry on repairinghis totally worn out coat.
That visit would change the course of his life.
However, not because of the looks that Pierrette, the tailor's young daughter would give him.
The cause of his suffering was a lot more simple... At least according to everyone around him.
Directing LIONEL MENARD
Directors Assystent MAJA PIECZERAK
Scenery/ Costumes AGNIESZKA MAGIERA
Mask & Puppets KATARZYNA WRÓBEL
Lights: ANDRZEJ KRÓL / PAWEŁ SREBRZYŃSKI / JĘDRZEJ SKAJSTER
Cast: EWELINA GRZECHNIK, PAULINA SZCZĘSNA, PAULINA STANIASZEK, PAWEŁ KULESZA,
IRENEUSZ WOJACZEK, BARTŁOMIEJ OSTAPCZUK
Marcel Marceau’s The Overcoat which premiered in 1951 went down in history as one of the most important group mime performances. Since then the play was staged numerous times in an almost unchanged form. It was hard not to get the impression that the show had largely become a museum exhibit.
In 2014, together with the director Lionel Menard, we decided to make that journey again. Inspired by the works of Nikolai Gogol, we wanted to pose the same questions and, more importantly, to take the risk of adapting the play for our era.
We would like to discover this mime drama once again through a new analysis of its aesthetics, rebuilding the plot,
altering the musical composition and costumes.
Following up on the debate on the universality of the art of mime we aim to show that the main principles of Marcel Marceau’s stage craft and the issues raised in the play have stood the test of time.
Gogol's official premiere took place on 14 June 2014 during
14th International Mime Art Festival in Warsaw, Poland, at Teatr Dramatyczny.
Duration 75 minutes
Directors Assystent MAJA PIECZERAK
Scenery/ Costumes AGNIESZKA MAGIERA
Mask & Puppets KATARZYNA WRÓBEL
Lights: ANDRZEJ KRÓL / PAWEŁ SREBRZYŃSKI / JĘDRZEJ SKAJSTER
Cast: EWELINA GRZECHNIK, PAULINA SZCZĘSNA, PAULINA STANIASZEK, PAWEŁ KULESZA,
IRENEUSZ WOJACZEK, BARTŁOMIEJ OSTAPCZUK
Marcel Marceau’s The Overcoat which premiered in 1951 went down in history as one of the most important group mime performances. Since then the play was staged numerous times in an almost unchanged form. It was hard not to get the impression that the show had largely become a museum exhibit.
In 2014, together with the director Lionel Menard, we decided to make that journey again. Inspired by the works of Nikolai Gogol, we wanted to pose the same questions and, more importantly, to take the risk of adapting the play for our era.
We would like to discover this mime drama once again through a new analysis of its aesthetics, rebuilding the plot,
altering the musical composition and costumes.
Following up on the debate on the universality of the art of mime we aim to show that the main principles of Marcel Marceau’s stage craft and the issues raised in the play have stood the test of time.
Gogol's official premiere took place on 14 June 2014 during
14th International Mime Art Festival in Warsaw, Poland, at Teatr Dramatyczny.
Duration 75 minutes
Review of the "Gogol" mime performance
Nostalgia and humor
Lionel Menard, one of Marcel Marceau's students, decided to take on his teacher and master's legendary production: the mime drama “The Overcoat” based on Nikolai Gogol's play. “Gogol”, which received a standing ovation on Saturday, had been prepared together with the Polish artists of the Warsaw Mime Centre. The main part was portrayed by Bartłomiej Ostapczuk, the theatre's manager and the festival's artistic director.
The show, which combines nostalgia with humour, provides a reference to the best traditions of Henryk Tomaszewski's famous Wrocław Mime Theatre. In an incredibly suggestive way, the six-strong company introduced the audience to the world of “The Government Inspector”; the world of amusing, disoriented people, hoping to change their grey, everyday life.
Rzeczpospolita / 06-2014
Lionel Menard, one of Marcel Marceau's students, decided to take on his teacher and master's legendary production: the mime drama “The Overcoat” based on Nikolai Gogol's play. “Gogol”, which received a standing ovation on Saturday, had been prepared together with the Polish artists of the Warsaw Mime Centre. The main part was portrayed by Bartłomiej Ostapczuk, the theatre's manager and the festival's artistic director.
The show, which combines nostalgia with humour, provides a reference to the best traditions of Henryk Tomaszewski's famous Wrocław Mime Theatre. In an incredibly suggestive way, the six-strong company introduced the audience to the world of “The Government Inspector”; the world of amusing, disoriented people, hoping to change their grey, everyday life.
Rzeczpospolita / 06-2014
The power of gesture
Quiet good and modest beauty can still be found on the opposite end of evil.
This was the case with mime shows presented during this year's International Mime Art Festival that was held in Warsaw.
This is already the fourteenth edition of this valuable event. Contrary to other theatrical forms, the art of mime in its classical, traditional form uses silence as one of its principal means of expression and requires concentration from both the artists and the audience. A mute actor speaks to the audience in silence, without words. These are replaced by body, movement, gesture and facial expressions.
That was true in the case of the wonderful "Gogol" by the Warsaw Mime Centre.
Gogol has been inspired by the works of Gogol (especially The Overcoat) and the late French mime master Marcel Marceau.
Directed by Lionel Menard, one of Marceau's students, is – one may say – a tribute to the great mime artist. Marceau-style staging and acting indicate that this way of thinking about the art of mime is a solid foundation which stood the test of time.
Gogol is a story of a modest man, beautifully told by Bartłomiej Ostapczuk (main part) along with Ewelina Grzechnik, Marta Grądzka, Paulina Szczęsna, Paweł Kulesza and Ireneusz Wojaczek. Bartłomiej Ostapczuk (an outstanding mime artist and director, also in charge of the Festival) used non-verbal means to develop an incredibly moving and psychologically convincing character of a humble clerk,
an honest and fair man, sensitive and trusting, who is unable to protect himself from the aggression of the outside world.
Delightful and emotional scenes like the one where the hungry protagonist shares his last piece of bread with a pigeon.
Bartłomiej Ostapczuk (without a single word, though with precision) painted a picture of a man, showing the richness of his inner world, his state of mind, emotions, sadness and occasionally a bit of happiness. The evolution of the character was presented with perfection and in a delightful way, sometimes using only one, almost unnoticeable, gesture. This is mime art mastery. It goes to show that the actor understands why he is silent, why he makes this or that particular gesture. The rest of the cast also deserve a praise.
This production enchanted me the most. This is pure mime in its most exquisite form. Without any multimedia support.
Nasz Dziennik/ Temida Podchorecka/ 06-2014
Quiet good and modest beauty can still be found on the opposite end of evil.
This was the case with mime shows presented during this year's International Mime Art Festival that was held in Warsaw.
This is already the fourteenth edition of this valuable event. Contrary to other theatrical forms, the art of mime in its classical, traditional form uses silence as one of its principal means of expression and requires concentration from both the artists and the audience. A mute actor speaks to the audience in silence, without words. These are replaced by body, movement, gesture and facial expressions.
That was true in the case of the wonderful "Gogol" by the Warsaw Mime Centre.
Gogol has been inspired by the works of Gogol (especially The Overcoat) and the late French mime master Marcel Marceau.
Directed by Lionel Menard, one of Marceau's students, is – one may say – a tribute to the great mime artist. Marceau-style staging and acting indicate that this way of thinking about the art of mime is a solid foundation which stood the test of time.
Gogol is a story of a modest man, beautifully told by Bartłomiej Ostapczuk (main part) along with Ewelina Grzechnik, Marta Grądzka, Paulina Szczęsna, Paweł Kulesza and Ireneusz Wojaczek. Bartłomiej Ostapczuk (an outstanding mime artist and director, also in charge of the Festival) used non-verbal means to develop an incredibly moving and psychologically convincing character of a humble clerk,
an honest and fair man, sensitive and trusting, who is unable to protect himself from the aggression of the outside world.
Delightful and emotional scenes like the one where the hungry protagonist shares his last piece of bread with a pigeon.
Bartłomiej Ostapczuk (without a single word, though with precision) painted a picture of a man, showing the richness of his inner world, his state of mind, emotions, sadness and occasionally a bit of happiness. The evolution of the character was presented with perfection and in a delightful way, sometimes using only one, almost unnoticeable, gesture. This is mime art mastery. It goes to show that the actor understands why he is silent, why he makes this or that particular gesture. The rest of the cast also deserve a praise.
This production enchanted me the most. This is pure mime in its most exquisite form. Without any multimedia support.
Nasz Dziennik/ Temida Podchorecka/ 06-2014
Gogol;
Gogol made a great impression on the audience, particularly on those of its members who were led to believe that it was Marceau himself that directed it himself from beyond the grave thanks to metempsychosis, and that it was a true copy of the 1951 Paris production of The Overcoat. Not really, since 99% of remakes are bound for a failure, and are devoid of soul and spirit, dead from the moment of concept development, not to mention the production process. Menard's Gogol featuring Ostapczuk as the lead, is indeed loosely based on The Overcoat, but focuses on numerous scenes bringing 19th-century Paris to mind, creating an opportunity to shine and to show the comedy talent to the rest of the cast which gets better every year: Marta Grądzka, Ewelina Grzechnik, Paulina Szczęsna, Paweł Kulesza and Ireneusz Wojaczek. It is a very stylish production, grey and blue like the imaginary pigeon from Ostapczuk's etude. There are also cool puppets and an unexpected and impressive ending.
Gogol made a great impression on the audience, particularly on those of its members who were led to believe that it was Marceau himself that directed it himself from beyond the grave thanks to metempsychosis, and that it was a true copy of the 1951 Paris production of The Overcoat. Not really, since 99% of remakes are bound for a failure, and are devoid of soul and spirit, dead from the moment of concept development, not to mention the production process. Menard's Gogol featuring Ostapczuk as the lead, is indeed loosely based on The Overcoat, but focuses on numerous scenes bringing 19th-century Paris to mind, creating an opportunity to shine and to show the comedy talent to the rest of the cast which gets better every year: Marta Grądzka, Ewelina Grzechnik, Paulina Szczęsna, Paweł Kulesza and Ireneusz Wojaczek. It is a very stylish production, grey and blue like the imaginary pigeon from Ostapczuk's etude. There are also cool puppets and an unexpected and impressive ending.
The premiere of the mime drama “Gogol” at the stage of Warsaw's Dramatic Theatre was received with a standing ovation last Saturday, June 14th. This is the second (after the very popular “Agua de lagrimas”) production of the Warsaw Mime Centre,
directed by Lionel Menard.
The central character is a modest clochard living in borderline poverty and looking for a better fate for himself (played by the unrivalled Barłomiej Ostapczuk).
Paweł Kulesza portrays a shop assistant-wizard, who can fulfil the promise of a change for the better. The actresses appearing on stage (Ewelina Grzechnik, Marta Grądzka, Paulina Szczęsna) are incredibly mobile and go from one role to another with admirable efficiency.
“Gogol” is a performance which bursts with means of expression including a variety of sound effects alongside musical elements. It also draws on the tradition of the puppet theatre. The actors lead the audience from laughter to affection; the scenes of the visit to the opera are hilarious, as are the sequences of dances and card games fraught with tricks. The scene in René's freezing room, when the protagonist shares his last breadcrumbs with a pigeon, and then has difficulties falling asleep in the cold room, is very moving. Dreamy elements also appear, such the main character's anxiety and fear which are reflected in subsequent events.
“Gogol” performed by the Warsaw Mime Centre is an incredibly graphic production. Costumes and make-up are hugely impressive. They create a fairy-tale atmosphere, at the same time telling a story of the dilemmas of human existence resulting from the will to make our desires true and change our lives for the better.
Teatr dla Was / 06-2014
directed by Lionel Menard.
The central character is a modest clochard living in borderline poverty and looking for a better fate for himself (played by the unrivalled Barłomiej Ostapczuk).
Paweł Kulesza portrays a shop assistant-wizard, who can fulfil the promise of a change for the better. The actresses appearing on stage (Ewelina Grzechnik, Marta Grądzka, Paulina Szczęsna) are incredibly mobile and go from one role to another with admirable efficiency.
“Gogol” is a performance which bursts with means of expression including a variety of sound effects alongside musical elements. It also draws on the tradition of the puppet theatre. The actors lead the audience from laughter to affection; the scenes of the visit to the opera are hilarious, as are the sequences of dances and card games fraught with tricks. The scene in René's freezing room, when the protagonist shares his last breadcrumbs with a pigeon, and then has difficulties falling asleep in the cold room, is very moving. Dreamy elements also appear, such the main character's anxiety and fear which are reflected in subsequent events.
“Gogol” performed by the Warsaw Mime Centre is an incredibly graphic production. Costumes and make-up are hugely impressive. They create a fairy-tale atmosphere, at the same time telling a story of the dilemmas of human existence resulting from the will to make our desires true and change our lives for the better.
Teatr dla Was / 06-2014