Authentic

Introduction

People believe they can tell what is “real.” But if our sense of reality is shaped by the ideas, values, and narratives of others, can we still recognize our true selves? Authentic by JK Opole Theatre breaks with conventional storytelling, combining physical performance, imagery, and space to create a psychological experiment on “reality.”

Continuing Krystian Lupa’s exploration of the subconscious and human nature, the production is directed by Norbert Rakowski and features leading Polish mime performer. Two “gorillas” will enter the stage, creating a striking contrast with human. As reality and fiction intertwine, the production blurs the boundaries between human and animal, inviting us to reconsider: What is real?

Press

Rakowski’s performance multiplies questions without offering answers. What emerges from it is a remarkable and highly distinctive kind of theatre, one you will not encounter anywhere outside Opole.

Jacek Wakar, Tygodnik Powszechny

A dense and intense performance in which a debate on the responsibilities of science intertwines with an ethical discourse on the right to personal happiness and pleasure. The reverse side of these human reflections is embodied by a pair of caged monkeys – brilliantly portrayed, both victims and perpetrators of harm. Yet the driving force of the piece lies in the confrontation between an experienced scientist and his young assistant: Bartosz Woźny compellingly conveys jaded detachment and cool distance, while Aurora Lipartowska masterfully defends her character, caught under immense pressure.

Przemek Gulda, guldapoleca

Against this backdrop, “Authentic” emerges as the next step in the director’s artistic journey – one that leads from questions of science and morality, through meditations on death, toward a reflection on authenticity in an age of technology and simulation. Rakowski has broadened both his philosophical perspective and the range of theatrical means he employs, combining elements of drama, movement, and performance art. Once again, he intrigues, captivates, and draws the audience into the world he has created.

Piotr Dobrowolski, Czas Kultury (en. Culture Time)

“Authentic” is a performance that aims to explore the essence of human authenticity, posing numerous philosophical and ideological questions. […] Through the dialogue between its characters, the creators voice dozens of profoundly difficult – yet often fundamental – questions, prompting the audience not only to analyze the shifting attitudes and reactions of the protagonists, but also to formulate their own answers in real time. It is an exceptionally intense and powerful intellectual experience, even though, on the surface, not much seems to happen on stage.

Michał Derkacz, dlastudenta.pl

Creative Team

Concept, direction and music arrangement

Norbert Rakowski

Stage director, PhD. From 2023 Vice president of the European Theatre Convention.

Graduated from the Faculty of Drama Directing at the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. Since 1997 he has worked as an assistant director of Krystian Lupa and as a director of documentary films in Polish Television Theatre. As a theatre director, he debuted with his original production Suddenly ( Studio Theatre in Warsaw ) and in 2001 he staged his diploma production of Robert Anderson’s Solitaire ( Contemporary Theatre in Warsaw ). Since then he directed several dozen plays and co-operated with many theaters in Poland and abroad (such as Poznan, Cracow, Warsaw, Prague, Szczecin and others). He was awarded few times with the Golden Mask for Direction.

He mainly directs plays concerned with contemporary topics or works with classics in contemporary aesthetics. A special place in his career is occupied by a period of laboratory work focused on working with dancers and research in combining dramatic language with contemporary dance theater (performances such as Bluebeard or Flow).

From 2015 he is the General and Artistic Director of JK Opole Theatre and Director of the Festival of Polish Classic Drama 'Konfrontacje' in Opole. In 2016 he created new space of unusual character called Modelatornia. His idea, was to create and consistently develop a place that would serve the implementation of postulates of Jerzy Grotowski – providing the basis for experimental explorations in the field of theatre. Norbert Rakowski invites artists to Opole who want to confront fundamental ideological problems on the stage and who are not afraid of creative dialogue with the audience through their original stage language.

Production 

Opole JK Theatre

Jan Kochanowski Theatre in Opole is a drama theatre whose history dates back to the post-war years. Since 1975, the theatre has been operating in its current location with one of the largest stages in Europe, the largest dramatic stage in Poland, and the third largest in the country after the Warsaw and Łódź opera houses. In the 1970s it was called a super theatre because of its size, momentum and budget, which was the highest in Poland at the time. Completed after more than nine years of construction, the theatre was the most modern theatre building in Poland at the time of its opening. Since that year, it has also borne the name of its current patron and hosts the Opole Theatre Confrontations, a festival devoted to stagings of Polish classical literature.

The building was designed by the design tandem of Julian Duchowicz and Zygmunt Majerski and is one of the most interesting theatre buildings in Poland. At the time of its acceptance, it had a Large Stage and a Small Stage. In the course of its operation, the rehearsal room was converted into the Stage on the Ground Floor (now the Bunkier Stage), and in 2016, on the initiative of Norbert Rakowski, the Modelatornia stage was created, arranged from the technical rooms of the paint shop next to the Large Stage. So now the theatre has four stages and a total of almost a thousand seats in the auditoriums. The huge stage, the trapdoors, the turntable, mean that many artists here indulge in demanding, spectacular productions that stun audiences with their spectacularity.

Most recently, the building underwent a major refurbishment between 2019 and 2021 as part of the ‘New Quality Theatre’ project. The main entrances to the theatre, the backstage and dressing rooms and the front elevation of the building have been rebuilt. A Theatre Education Centre was created, the ventilation and air-conditioning were upgraded, the sound system and lighting for the various stages were upgraded and the front façade was changed.

Cast & Crew

Production: JK Opole Theatre

Co-produced by: Wrocław Pantomime Theatre

Concept, direction and music arrangement: Norbert Rakowski

Choreography and music arrangement: Janusz Orlik

Set design: Maria Jankowska

Costume design: Paula Grocholska, Wanda i Marcin Kędzierzawscy (RedoSFX)

Lighting design: Bogumił Palewicz

Viedo: Wojciech Kapela

Cast: Kamil Brzeziński, Jakub Klimaszewski, Aurora Lipartowska, Karolina Pewińska, Bartosz Woźny

The project is co-financed by the Regional Government of the Opole Voivodeship.