Natan Berkowicz

The performance is performed in Ancient Greek with simultaneous translation into Polish using headphones.

A play co-produced by the Nationaltheater Mannheim

We all know the first lines of the invocation opening ‘Pan Tadeusz’. Lithuania is Adam Mickiewicz's homeland, which the poet lost just like one would lose their health. In recalling Lithuania, the first thing that springs to the poet's mind are its beautiful farmlands. But is he at all concerned with the stories of the people who cultivated those fields? ‘Pan Tadeusz’ is clearly focused on the story of the nobility, as its title suggests; after all, it tells the story of the last nobleman's foray. The national epic seems to completely ignore the rest of the world. So who is it written for? What do we, as contemporaries, actually have in common with the story of incessantly bickering nobles; a story that ends with the contractual marriage of a fourteen-year-old girl to the titular ‘Pan’? What does this story really teach us today? And what is it actually about? Are we supposed to admire it or hate it?

A world just after a fratricidal war. A world in which all the strong and healthy have died. Only the old, the unfit and the very young have remained. They are the ones who must rebuild the world – those who no longer have the strength to work and change, and those who are not yet capable of changing the world. The external war is over, but it continues in people's minds – they must continue to fight, take revenge, create enemies. The war with swords turns into a war with corpses. Can reconciliation between the young and the old only happen after death? When and how to let go? Is it possible to stop fighting, taking revenge and settling scores, and simply live a normal life?

The musical ‘Antigone’ tells Sophocles' tragedy in contemporary rap language. It builds a bridge between the world of ancient heroes, values and choirs, and the world of today's young people, whose rebellion and heroism blend with confusion, fear and uncertainty. Bisz, one of the most important contemporary Polish songwriters and rappers, will be responsible for the lyrics and music (along with Michał Szlempo).