Monday 5 October 2009

Sisters, Superheroines and Polish Theatre (!)

After a frustrating week of losing my carefully written blog posts before putting them up (stupid) I start this week knackered but with new resolve after spending the weekend in Cardiff with my two (not so) little sisters. We took lots of silly photos, generally shopped, drank, danced and talked far too much, which was fantastic, and bought the most adorable she-ra pants from Topshop. Aren't they gorgeous?     I still have copies of my old She-Ra book and tapes from when I was a kid: not even this 80's characters website has THOSE.

This weekend was certainly a change from last, which was theatre-filled: I was on a performance course in the bowels of the Barbican, going back to my youth acting roots with a weekend of homage to Grotowski and his TOWARDS A POOR THEATRE. Which I loved: the devotion of it, and the almost architectural theatrical effects you can get with just bodies, and light, and voices. Blown away by the photo exhibition at the National of Grotowski's last performance, APOKALYPSIS CUM FIGURIS. This was my favourite image, I stood in front of it, trying to draw the shapes, for FAR too long:



Might go and see it again. Shiver with temptation and glee! Also saw the brilliantly-sung but pretty hardgoing GOSPELS OF CHILDHOOD by Theatr Zar.  It was one of those performances which are better once you've had a bit of time to think about them. And, I have to admit, once you have the opportunity to quiz the director about it for an hour.