In Poland, the war is no longer just the national memory and has been present in our everyday life for more than two years now. Its impact on everyday life and the shape of many seemingly stable contexts (e.g. education) is not only a challenge for the adults, but also for children, evoking many questions. Talking about war is not easy. There is no doubt, however, that the artists creating Dziwna wiosna (Strange Spring) told a war story to children’s imaginations and sensitivities. Without being excessively violent, they left hope for the good hidden inside the world. In the following conversation with Jacky Lie-A-Njoek, we discuss the performance at the 7th New Theatre for Children Festival from two perspectives: that of a person who received it based on a visual-sound experience without a linguistic understanding of the text, and that of a person for whom it was a story of the eastern neighbourhood told in their native language.
Jacky Lie-A-Njoek: I am from the Netherlands. I do not speak Polish, and the contexts, references and connotations are not as clear and obvious to me as they are to Zuzanna. There were many references to Ukrainian and Polish history on stage that I had no idea about, so no symbolism or deeper layers came to me immediately. However, the production spoke not only through text but also through powerful imagery and performances. Through that and later conversations with Zuzanna and research, I have gained insight into the contexts to which I can relate my interpretations. This show is about children at war and how the world of imagination helps them survive difficult times and see hope. The show deals with loss, stress, fear, camaraderie, and friendship.
Zuzanna Madurska: It turns out that directly naming armed aggression is unnecessary to tell a story about it. Oleg Mychajłow, the author of the text adapted for this production and the creative team presented the war situation as three stories about three animals told by three friends. Each story was a distinct stage of the war’s invasion: from incomprehensible beginnings to terrifying loneliness to finding help and hope.
The word ‘war’ was not mentioned in the production, nor were its attributes directly specified. For example, when the story involved a soldier who shot, the performers (Justyna Fabisiak, Elżbieta Nagel, Piotr Kramer) represented the weapon only by onomatopoeically mimicking the sound of gunfire. The soldier (not named by his profession) was portrayed as a strange man whom the small animals feared. The language was calm and magical, following the fairy-tale convention chosen for the piece. The truth is that even an adult audience, if unprepared for the piece’s themes, could only understand the essence of the story towards the end of the performance when it focused on events that happened a “long time ago.” This was through subtle references to “newcomers from Germany” or the “incomprehensible but safe language” (Ukrainian). I suspect that, for the youngest spectators, Dziwna Wiosna could, therefore, be a story not only about war but, above all, about an incomprehensible danger in which, through friendship, hope can be found.
And even though the adult actors perform children, the war story is also not infantilised but told in an engaging and approachable way. The actors use and sometimes animate plush mascots, use a toy projector, and “live-build” sets using the seemingly random things they have at hand or in their backpacks.
Jacky Lie-A-Njoek: Jakub Drzastwa created the set design, which was the main element through which I understood Dziwna Wiosna. First, the characters in the story drew a square on the ground with chalk and called it home. The next scenes took place in and around this house. The drawing helped contextualize events and actions. The structure was also clear, as the projections separated the three stories. Later, one of the actresses turned into a tree where the other actors could hang drawings. Another aspect I paid a lot of attention to were the children’s reactions. The ages of the children in the audience varied. Some of the children in the audience were younger than the suggested age (+7) and were easily distracted, distracting other spectators. However, I thought it was not only the younger children who were distracted. The performers worked hard to approach the children. Sometimes, however, it seemed too much and did not fully engage or reach the youngest children. However, when the children were asked a question, they could give a quick answer, which showed that they were paying attention to what was happening on stage. During the conversation after the performance, the children said that they were moved by the performance. All this showed me that many elements of the play were important in understanding the Polish context of the performance and that these tools were missing for me.
Conclusion
Dziwna Wiosna is an example of how to talk to children about difficult issues without frightening them and, simultaneously, without belittling their young minds. The story of the wartime invasion was presented on the Kameralna Stage of Wrocław’s Puppetry Theatre. Presented during the New Theatre for Children Festival, the stage adaptation of Oleg Mykhailov’s fairy tale left no illusions – it depicted the fear accompanying children during such difficult and incomprehensible events. Importantly, however, the creative team behind Dziwna Wiosna did not leave the audience with this fear but showed hope even in such a tragic situation. The production was aimed at spectators with access to Central European history, but spectators with different experiences still found access, as Jacky Lie-A-Njoek said. Above all, the production and its main message seemed to touch the hearts and minds of the children: even the most difficult situations become easier if there is someone beside you with whom you can share your fears and anxieties.
Authors: Jacky Lie-A-Njoek, University of Amsterdam (discussion) and Zuzanna Madurska, University of Wrocław (discussion, introduction and conclusion)
This text was written by students as part of the collaboration between the University of Amsterdam and the University of Wrocław and supervised by Kasia Lech and Justyna Kowal.
This post was written by the author in their personal capacity.The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of The Theatre Times, their staff or collaborators.
