Delight without Solace

Agnieszka Michalak, DZIENNIK

T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T. staged by Grzegorz Jarzyna at TR is a bit like a bad dream. We want to wake up but we are also excited by its suspense and pain.

The researchers specializing in Pier Paolo Pasolini saw his "Teorema" as an unambiguous manifesto of Marxism, a heresy and anti-bourgeois provocation. Grzegorz Jarzyna however, seems to be very far from sharing any of these outlooks; he does not attempt to create a theatrical copy of the film. "Teoremat" seems to be a mere starting point, the reason for discussion, no matter how pathetically this may sound, about man, religion, morality and solving a mystery... "T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T." may be seen as a homage paid by Jarzyna to the great artist where a collage is made up of the most important ideas expressed by Pasolini and his poems recited by the characters. "After the adventure with Witkacy, Pier Paolo Pasolini is the next artist who fascinates me in every area", said Jarzyna before the first night. This fascination may be seen in every minute of the performance, the gradually built up tension, the feeling of suffocation and saturation with images. And Paolo played by Jan Englert seems to be the alter ego of Jarzyna who is unable to answer whether he believes in miracles, whether he believes in God. He can also be every one of us - a helpless man in the wilderness who carries a demon inside.

Jarzyna's characters are broken inside. First, they live as if next to their own lives in the painfully structured world, in an absolutely and totally clean house (very ascetic setting by Magdalena Maciejewska), according to the long established schedule. Paolo (a finished and touching creation by Englert) leaves for work every day to his own factory where he can carry on with his life. Lucia (the daring and full of expression Danuta Stenka) spends her days in front of a mirror. Their son's sense of existence (Jan Dravnel) involves gaining his father's acceptance; the daughter Odetta (Katarzyna Warnke) has sick feelings for her father. The order shall be destroyed forever by the arrival of the visitor (not ambiguous enough Sebastian Pawlak), who gets involved in love affairs with everybody, including Emilia, the maid (Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieślak). In the sexual act he shall give them a new life taking power and sacrifice in return. Then he shall leave them standing in front of distorted mirror reflections of themselves, in the final point. Was that the Son of God or rather Devil? Another unanswered question... there is one thing in this world which is certain - bliss will never bring solace and suffering does not necessarily lead to freedom.

The play by Jarzyna, as Pasolini's film, is composed of short scenes. In the first part, the images become more and more intense, more painful to the actors, and viewers, they bring fear and perdition. The gestures are meaningful, there are virtually no words. The actors take turns being fierce, meek, finally even ridiculous. In the second part all this changes. The words hurt. So does the ending, or rather the endings (...)
Jarzyna's "T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T." hurts. Once you leave the TR with every minute more gestures open up anew inside your head; each time they open, they convey more and more meaning. For "T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T." is such a vision of the world in which nothing can be certain, including death.