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Europe Theatre Prize Winner Krystian Lupa will lead the Dramatic Theatre of the City of Warsaw to perform "Persona. Marilyn" in late October at the Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium. In the play, Lupa, who is a mentor to a whole generation of Polish theatre directors, delves into the psyche of sex goddess Marilyn Monroe.
Renowned theatre director Lupa once said, "Personality is not merely the character of an individual, but also that individual's radical longing, his or her unfulfilled yet potential persona; personality is also a matter of autosuggestion and self-deceit." Lupa is famous for guiding actors to identify the sensibilities they share with the characters they play, and successfully unites his performers with their stage personas. Through such penetrating realism, the director and his actors travel deep into their characters' lives, developing a haunting and transcendental style of performance.
Lupa's theatrical tempo is also exceptional. In his productions, time extends, compresses and freezes through innovative set design and projected images to create multi-dimensional spaces in which characters' complexities can be fully exposed.
"Persona. Marilyn" is part of Lupa's "Persona" series. In a performance complete with breathless whispers, Sandra Korzeniak explores the boundaries of her double existence as an actress and as Monroe. Unravelling the icon's complex personality, Korzeniak gradually peels back the layers that made up Monroe, starting with media myths and images, and moving through to the mask she wore in front of others and finally her naked self. The awesome power of such acting in the theatre work produces a spellbinding atmosphere.
Born in 1943, Krystian Lupa studied painting, cinema and theatre directing. Early recognition arrived with his grand adaptations of German and Russian dramas. Hailed as "Poland's theatrical giant", he has received many major national and international honours, including the Konrad Swinarski Award, the Leon Schiller Award, the Austrian Cross of Merit, the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and the Europe Theatre Prize. In Poland today, Lupa enjoys the same reputation that the country's late world-renowned theatrical masters Tadeusz Kantor and Jerzy Grotowski once had. In 1983, he started to teach at the influential State Higher School of Theatre in Krakow, his alma mater. His students have included Krzysztof Warlikowski, Grzegorz Jarzyna and many other outstanding young Polish directors.
"Persona. Marilyn" is one of the highlights of "World Cultures Festival 2013 - Lasting Legacies of Eastern Europe" and will be held at 7.30pm on October 24 and 25, and at 2.30pm on October 26, at the Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium. The show will be conducted in Polish with Chinese and English surtitles. As the programme contains strong language, nudity and sexual and smoking scenes, it is recommended for those aged 18 and above.
Tickets are available at URBTIX now. Tickets for October 24 and 25 are priced at $480, $380, $280 and $180, while tickets for October 26 are priced at $440, $340, $240 and $140. Half-price tickets are available for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 and above, people with disabilities and their minders, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. Other booking discounts of up to 20 per cent are available.
Krystian Lupa will also give a talk on the layered personality in the theatre production on October 26 (Saturday) at 7.30pm at the Kwai Tsing Theatre Lecture Room to discuss how he uses internal monologue and improvisation to enter the inner worlds of celebrated individuals, creating different layers for their complex characters. The talk will be conducted in Polish and English. Admission is free. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Programme brochures for "World Cultures Festival 2013 - Lasting Legacies of Eastern Europe" are available at URBTIX outlets or at the website, www.worldfestival.gov.hk.
For programme enquiries, call 2370 1044. For telephone credit card bookings, call 2111 5999. Internet bookings can be made at www.urbtix.hk.
Ends/Thursday, October 17, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:51
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