Anna Viljanen

The Clown is Dead, Long Live the Clown!

Anna Viljanen Kultura Enter 2020, issue 97

To say that in the last several months our lives have been turned upside down is no small thing. Phineas Taylor Barnum, the godfather of circus art, provides these helpful words: “the noblest art is that of making others happy”. Was this year’s Carnaval Sztukmistrzów held under the name “The Polish Incident” happy? Here is an overview of the current state of the Polish circus scene, a special edition of Carnaval Sztukmistrzów, not just from necessity but also by choice.

The Three (out of Nowhere) who burst the bubble of tension

The first performances were a little stiff, as if there was resistance. Everything appeared to be going well at first: people wearing funny masks with clown noses, signed health declarations, seats in the right distances from one another – but for many it was the first large event for several months. Stress was showing, and in people’s faces one could see the effects of social isolation. The audience, smothered by the smell of disinfectants, was filled with heavy, suffocating thoughts – What would it be like this year? Carnaval Sztukmistrzów has long attracted crowds so large that getting from The Lublin Castle to po Farze Square took at least a dozen minutes at best. And now? Even though the Old Town was once again filled up with people looking up to the sky in search of slackliners, crowds from previous editions were still nowhere to be seen. And yet we were there, sitting and….

Then suddenly the artists from Tres de La Nada (Three out of Nowhere) grabbed a huge needle and with a huge bang came the first peals of laughter as the balloon of tension burst like an honorary salvo – the first, loudest cheer opening the celebrations of the Jester Festival. The trio consisting of Javier Hernández, Sergio Carrero and Jorge Moreno with graceful, charming absurdity cut the ribbon and opened “The Polish Incident” with their comedic and pantomimic street show “H2Oooops”. In their simple, but flavourful show of high, joyous quality, they do not spare our vocal chords while we laugh ourselves to tears as our tension ebbs away. “H2Oooops” is extremely inventive and at the same time disarmingly direct. With these pantomimes, it is impossible not to feel like a child visiting their first circus – just relax and eat popcorn, enjoy simple jokes and chant what the artists command. Under normal circumstances close interaction with the

audience would have a greater role, but even now, in this minimised version, it was still extremely satisfying, especially since for the artists it was a great opportunity to joke even while applying the required safety measures. And because all that is scary stops being so when laughed at – the mind somehow becomes calmer and the audience goes to the next show a lot more relaxed.

On the seventh day the Lord rested, but through the previous six – He danced

There’s no other cause for eye-popping astonishment than to say that you attended a fantastic dance performance based on Jacek Kaczmarski’s music. It works like a charm. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine a less “dance-like” music than compositions by the iconic bard of the Solidarity movement, but the situation looks a lot different when we treat that music as the foundation for a show. However, this is more than a classic celebration of beauty and the incredible acrobatic possibilities of the human body. Ale Circus Dance Company undoubtedly squeezed all they could, whilst presenting a world-class quality show. Kaczmarski’s “Raj” that tells the story of the creation of the world, man and angels literally commented on this dance and acrobatic pantomime. Despite light pauses between songs which slightly “cut” the flow of the show, the artists managed to create a cohesive whole. On the one hand they’ve created a metaphor for the oppressive, patriarchal order of things, and on the other – the creation of the world, from banishment from Eden until today. This predatory story, at times really dark, whirred with the flutter of angel wings. Feathers torn amidst screams fell among the fighting archangels dripping with wounds. Adam and Eve confidently showed what they could do with their daring equilibristics. An ordinary collective would probably stop at this, leaving the audience dreamy, thrown off balance and delighted. However, Ale Circus Company decided that a regular show would not be enough, and had a grand finale with a bang – hence the entire audience along with the men on the stage were floored upon seeing Nicole Lewicka levitating in a circle above their heads to the bass tunes of Karolina Czarniecka’s “Za siedmioma blokami”. The ultimate triumph of, at long last, a liberated woman is exactly the sort of finale I find immensely satisfying. Run when Death is laughing and Wrzące Ciała are buzzing about

I went to “Death and Laughter” by the duo Wrzące Ciała with mixed feelings and a sense of wariness because despite my love for culture in its various forms, I am very resistant to theatre (and new theatre even more so). But you don’t say no to Death, particularly when it looks at you so piercingly and waves its scythe to the rhythm of the Charleston. The show by Aleksandra Batko and Maja Rękawek is based on oppositions that have been known since the dawn of entertainment, namely the clown vs the gloomy Gus, laughter vs mourning, life vs death. It’s a dialogue without words so expressive that even children understand it perfectly. The artists were not afraid of crossing the boundaries of comfort zones – both their own and those of the audience, playing with conventions, exaggerated gestures and presenting artistic performances bordering on commedia dell’arte. Personally, I like that aspect but I realise that others could see it as the performance’s greatest flaw. The form aside, another aspect is vital – the most important were emotions. The feelings and moods that swept the audience with nearly superhuman amplitude frequently changed gear from euphoria to despair – and all that in a matter of seconds. Death and Fool played us like instruments that are slightly out of tune but ready. Paweł Odorowicz’s perfectly matched compositions added extra flavour to the performance. A long time ago master Polycarp declared that in the face of death (especially of the dancing variety), everyone is equal and it will strangle everyone sooner or later. But why not get to know it better and perhaps even become friends with it?

Divide et impera, oh King of Entertainment

Carnaval Sztukmistrzów has a different appeal for every person. The variety of forms and repertoires offers something for everyone. This year’s formula of the festival could dishearten enthusiasts of classic, improvised street shows and laughter provoked by interactions. But Marcin Lipski and Miłosz Budka did not let us fall into the abyss of despair – in their act “The Kings of Entertainment” they briskly grabbed the gloomy Guses

by the collars and threw them mercilessly smack dab in the middle of their own colourful, lively and heated argument full of name-calling. Energy flowed like a rapid stream along the rows of seats arranged according to regulations and allowed us to forget about their existence, to feel as if the crowds were gathering and pushing in the street instead. The problem presented by the show seems simple, but it’s undoubtedly fraught with emotions – there can be only one king of entertainment, the throne is narrow and the crown can’t fit two heads. The world is too small for two kings so into their charming battle for ruling over laughter they drag the audience whose cheers are the literal jury of the contest and work like drugs. They divide and conquer. How does it all end? The outcome is different every time. It depends on the audience – they take turns winning... But the end is always the same – the blue and red corners of the ring ultimately converge and turn purple.

The clown is dead, long live the clown!

The jester has always been in the shadows, even in the middle of a stage. The jester has always observed. For years, hiding their faces behind a thick layer of makeup and exaggerated facial expressions, they watched and read the moods. They always had to blend in perfectly – even one careless or failed joke could cost them their heads. Every wig, costume and cap and bells hid an intelligent, perceptive person whose unknown fate pushed them into this particular profession. They existed to provoke laughter, even when seeing what was happening at courts made them want to hang their heads, clasp hands in their laps like the Polish Stańczyk and once and for all wipe that permanent smile off their faces. Kolektyw Kejos shifted the point of interest or perhaps juggled it magnificently to finally put the jester at the centre of attention. The jester’s remains have been dug out in a post-apocalyptic world, at long last someone has taken notice. Now the jesters have the chance to speak and no one can stop them. They will tell their story, a story that everyone overlooked, that served only as a background, a reflection of the world, but one that was clear, vivid and expressive. It is a story of always standing in the back, observing events around the world, ready to laugh and mock what called for it. We are no longer dealing with a series of empty tricks, vacuous laughter, and one-sided playfulness. Instead, we get a tale woven in Shakespeare’s language, full of delightful choreography, visual arts and multimedia, and an incredible concord between all Jesters, where the word no longer carries any negative connotations. The current Jester is one with a capital J, still a little fearful but rather proud of who they are because they have survived the Elizabethan times when a failed performance could end with reactions far worse than booing. On the one hand, “The Fool’s Epitaph’ leaves us with a delicious want and a desire to reach once again for all of Shakespeare’s plays just to pay attention to these figures. On the other hand, there’s this unsettling thought: just a second. I’m sitting here on this chair with the expectation to be entertained, just like everyone else throughout the ages. So why are they looking at me weird like that?

Follow the White Rabbit, Neo!

No curious resident of the Matrix will be able to resist such a command. If Carnaval Sztukmistrzów deserved the label creepy at any moment in its long history, then it must have been when AntiRabbity Tomasz Piotrowski entered the stage. This man hides underneath a psychedelic rabbit mask (or at least I hope so because I was too afraid to check after the show) and has created a dystopia that no mind can resist. The show is a unique combination of bitter science fiction and contemporary circus. Everyone knows the famous Alice from Lewis Carroll’s book, and her adventures in Wonderland can give the shivers even (or perhaps especially) to adults. This time, a reverse situation has taken place – our world, Earth, welcomes a guest from that other dimension. He has brought along advertising banners, information brochures, excellent displays of visual manipulations and lightshow, as well as hypnotic trance music. All this to present himself as best as possible and recruit new residents – subjects for his Queen, whose voice, dripping with sweetness and cruelty, leads the spectator by the nose throughout the entire show. Under its influence, the White Rabbit wanders around the stage feeling a little lost. On the one hand, the Red Queen is far away and he should be safer in this weird, technological world but on the other hand, her presence and control over the show is so tangible that it seems like she might suddenly jump out from one of the many doors at Workshops of Culture, where the show was performed. And then no spectator would sit still, everyone would surely make a run for it.

Freaks of the world unite!

This one sentence sums up the performance by Warszawski Cyrk Magii i Ściemy. Freak shows undoubtedly belong to the darkest and most shameful cards in the history of the circus, but it cannot be denied that they enjoyed great popularity, especially at the beginning of the 20th century. We travelled back to those times together with the eponymous “The Lion Man” – his character is an almost biographical tribute to Stefan Bibrowski, the American freak show star with Polish roots. He suffered from hypertrichosis, also descriptively called the “werewolf syndrome”, characterised by excessive hair growth on the whole body – a symptom difficult to diagnose even today, let alone then. However, Stefan dazzled the legendary P.T. Barnum and it was with his circus, Barnum & Bailey, that Bibrowski toured the entire world presenting his lush, light hair. Judging from the fact that he supposedly knew five languages, dressed extremely elegantly and displayed charming manners, his real-life direct superior must have been much kinder and more cooperative than the freak show owner presented in the performance. Maciej Czarski who played the Freak Hunter, a cruel, despicable man full of superficial self-adoration lined with lack of self-acceptance, showed off the wide range of his rapacious acting skills. It was his character who hunted down and imprisoned both the eponymous protagonist (played by Antek Borodziuk) and the clown girl (in this role Hanna Klepacka) who was disarming with her joyful, curious and direct way of being. The tensions got much more intense when romance straight from “Beauty and the Beast” entered the picture. It is also impossible not to get the impression that aside from the literal layer, the lion men (both the protagonist of the show and the historical figure) hide deeper meaning, whether it be in relation to the current pandemic and political situation or certain social problems that stir so many emotions that it has become difficult to allude to them in any other manner but through a joke. But isn’t this what circus is for?

Carnaval started, ran its course and then it was over, leaving behind Facebook livestreams and a very pleasant lightness of the heart that had been forgotten and not felt for many months. Yes, it’s true: COVID has hit the clown. Hard. But, the Clown is dead, so long live the Clown! They have just got up... and what are they doing? Probably giving the virus the finger...

post scriptum

post scriptum

“Taking part in The Polish Incident has given our duo the opportunity to produce our own debut show that has resulted from our joint workshops, practices and experiences acquired in the broadly defined field of physical theatre.The performance has had a chance to be born on the stage. The festival has created a space for us to broaden our horizons, present our creative expressivity and “infect” others with it, which for an artist is nothing less than an amazing experience.”

Aleksandra and Maja / Wrzące Ciała

“The Polish Incident, this year’s iteration of Carnaval Sztukmistrzów, was for me, personally and artistically, a truly unique event. It was my first time performing at this festival, and that was special because since its first edition I’d always thought that it would be nice to perform here one day and it finally happened. Let’s add that this was my first original show, my first time doing something on the stage for such a long time and possibly my first time working this intensely on a project. All this could happen largely thanks to you, your work and the trust you have given me.”

Tomasz Piotrowski / AntiRabbity

“Thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to meet with the Polish audience. It was our first performance in Poland and we will remember it for a very long time. The professional handling of the festival and the taste of “cebularz” are what we couldn’t forget on our way back to Spain. Regards from Pamplona. Gracias Lublin!”

Tres de la Nada

“The incident was an impulse It was an impulse to act. The acting worked and here I am, Veggie. A unique event. The accompanying challenges, struggles with oneself and confronting them with the public gives power. What’s even better is that you’re not alone in this. The first Polish Showcase of Contemporary Circus Shows was certainly a milestone for my work, thank you!.”

Kamil Malecki / Kamil Żongler

“If not for the Polish Incident, this cooperation would not have been born. We had thought about “Kings” for a long time, but there was no spark to initiate it until Carnaval – we want to warmly thank you for that! We always say that a performance shouldn’t just appeal to the audience, but it should also be fun for the artists. “The Kings of Entertainment” combine these two elements, so we wish you, and ourselves, to have the opportunity to take part in this show.”

Marcin Lipski and Miłosz Budka

”The Incident has most of all given us an opportunity to create a new show in a line-up in which we can develop it for the next several years and we certainly won’t reach the limit very soon. The incident has given us a chance to see how we work together and it has turned out great! As far as the event is concerned, it would be nice to write that it has given us a chance to see what shows by other Polish artists look like, but sadly most of us were in this or other way involved in other projects. And compliments for the videos (beautifully edited recordings that were a pleasure to watch). The Incident was also a great opportunity to meet with other artists and exchange experiences. Of course, it was also a chance to meet other people from within and outside the circus industry, We think that this year’s Carnaval has fulfilled its role and stirred Polish community into action, resulting in the creation of some very interesting productions. Thank you for your vote of confidence and for the opportunity to be a part of this event!.”

Maciej Czarski / Ale Circus Dance Company “The Polish incident is a fantastic idea that has activated Polish new circus community and allowed a group of artists associated with Warszawski Cyrk Magii i Ściemy to create a circus musical in the difficult time of the pandemic. The meeting of the actress and composer Hanna Klepacka and new circus artists: Antoni Borodziuk and Maciej Czarski has resulted in a mutual exchange of ideas and positive “infection” – new circus has been infected with music and acting, and theatre with clowning. New circus as an innovative medium where tradition meets the art of the future and the intellect meets the body is a branch of performing arts with a great potential for development that especially in times of crisis deserves promotion, attention and support. Thanks to that, subsequent Polish circus arts will be more and more professional, original and noticed by decision makers who grant funding for culture.”

Michał Walczak / Warszawski Cyrk Magii i Ściemy

”Participating in The Polish Incident was for our group an opportunity to present the results of the three-month-long romance of circus and Shakespeare in our blue tent in Opatowice in Wrocław. We consumed the fruit of that love in Dominikański Square in Lublin in the presence of several dozen witnesses and several sets of cameras. The confrontation of our work with the audience was a very important test of our efforts. It not only gave us energy for further work, but also direction in which we want to head. In our opinion, the uniqueness of the Incident lies in the fact that we were one of many such groups that gathered in Lublin towards the end of September. Thanks to the support of the organisers, new circus shows have been created on a scale unprecedented in Poland. It gives us hope for further development of the contemporary circus community in Poland.”

Adam Banach / Kolektyw KEJOS

organizatorzy / organizers:

Carnaval Sztukmistrzów | The Polish Incident 2020 took place in Lublin between 17-20 September 2020 and online 21-30.09.2020

Organiser: Ludic Culture and Art Department Workshops of Culture in Lublin partnerzy / partners: info@sztukmistrze.eu www.sztukmistrze.eu

Publisher: Warsztaty Kultury w Lublinie ul. Grodzka 5a, 20-112 Lublin sekretariat@warsztatykultury.pl +48 81 466 59 08

Editor: Iwona Kornet patroni medialni / media patronage:

Collaboration and Assistance: Marcelina Gzyl

Proofreading: Agata Fijuth-Dudek

Translation: Małgorzata Stanek

Design and typesetting: sponsorzy / sponsors:Ewelina Kruszewska

Typeface in used: Archivo Black, Geller Sans

The publication contains quotes from reviews published at kuglarstwo.pl by Agnieszka Bińczycka

Zdjęcia photos:

Franek Goszczyński 16, 17, 26, 27, 32, 33, 46, 47, 76, 99, 102, 103,

Katarzyna Motek 3, 8, 9, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 61, 77, 99, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 123, 149

Bartłomiej Nowakowski 26, 27, 38, 39, 42, 43, 46,47, 54, 76, 81, 120, 121, 122

Natalia Ogłoszka 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 24, 25, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 58, 59, 64, 65, 66, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 78, 79, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 83, 94, 96, 97, 100, 101, 102, 103, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 123, 124, 125, 126, 129, 136, 137, 141, 142, 146, 148, 149, 150, 151

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The project has been co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage