THE AUTHOR OF THE PERFORMANCE: Joanna Holcgreber
MUSIC: prof. Maria Pomianowska, Wojciech Lubertowicz
OPERATOR OF LIGHT: Paweł Kieszko
TRANSLATION OF EURIPIDES’ “ELECTRA” INTO POLISH: Jerzy Łanowski
VIDEO ANIMATION OF THE MURDER SCENE: Daniel Tumanowicz, Rafał Tumanowicz
PERFORMED BY: Joanna Holcgreber
The play was presented at, among others:
“Teatropolis” Festival in Łódź,
“Adaptacie” International Festival at Divadlo Kontra (Slovakia),
at the Zamojski Museum as part of the “Gardzienice” Theatre Residency in Kozłówka,
BytOFFsky Festival at the Bytów Cultural Center,
OSPTA Festival at the Chełm Cultural Center,
“Atspindys” International Monodrama Festival (Lithuania)
People speak about these tales,
but in such things my faith is small—
that the sun’s hot throne of gold
turned round to punish human beings
in a cause involving mortal men.
Euripides „Electra”
“Electra”, a drama written by Euripides almost two and a half thousand years ago.
A story about jealousy, envy, and an overwhelming desire for revenge.
A story about people who are playthings in the hands of gods.
A story still painfully relevant.
A story where words are illustrated by gestures.
The show “Elektra23” germinated on the fertile ground created by the play “Elektra”, directed by Włodzimierz Staniewski in 2004 at the “Gardzienice” Theater.
It’s been 20 years.
In that “Electra”, I did the honors of the Chorus Leader and intensively practiced a new acting technique proposed by the Director, cheironomy.
Cheironomy is the art of gesticulation, in which gesture accompanies the spoken words. The sources of knowledge about cheironomy date back to the times of the Ancient Greek theater, and the gestures from the alphabet developed in the “Gardzienice” Theater find their patterns in vase painting, sculptures and reliefs from that period.
Our cheironomy turned out to be a very attractive tool in theatre work.
We played “Elektra” for the last time in Gardzienice before the pandemic, in 2019. There are many indications that we will no longer present it on stage in the form in which it existed then.
I decided to create my own solo version of Euripides’ drama, based on selected fragments of this tragedy, in which I will be able to cultivate cheironomy.
In my work, I used the music of Professor Maria Pomianowska and the rhythmic compositions of Wojciech Lubertowicz.
The performance premiered on October 14, 2023 in Gardzienice during the “Generator of Hope” Festival.
Joanna Holcgreber
FRAGMENT OF THE REVIEW:
Joanna Holcgreber decided to perform “Elektra” alone, taking on the roles of characters from Euripides’ tragedy, including the chorus. (…)
At first, it seems that we are to follow the tragic plot and the content of Euripides’ phrases. However, it quickly turns out that the acting itself becomes the subject. It is a presentation of the style and the artistry of the performer maintained in it, a demonstration of the unique “Gardzienice” playing. Simple and unpretentious, avoiding pathos, defending itself with quality.
Grzegorz Kondrasiuk – Obecność „Gardzienic”, January 2024
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