Teatr A Part is an independent theatre company founded by director Marcin Herich in 2004 in Katowice, producing stage performances, site-specific works and outdoor shows. Teatr A Part focuses on the body, movement, form and visual narrative. A Part’s productions have been staged in over 30 countries across five continents.
“Femina” is a large-scale outdoor performance inspired by the book “Sex and Death” by French anthropologist Jacques Ruffie and by symbolic paintings and prints by Felicien Rops, Franz von Stuck, Arnold Böcklin, Alfred Kubin, and Katowice-based artist Igor Neubauer. The performance metaphorically summarizes the story of one life: from birth, through the experience of life, to death. Its protagonist is Woman, her daily passions, daily joy, and daily suffering. The second important character of the performance is water. It is the seed of life, life itself, the companion of death. The third character of the performance is love. The performance is about ordinary life, hence the composition of life itself: lyrical moments are interwoven with moments of terror; love, tenderness, and traces of happiness contrast with pain, fear, and suffering. “Femina” premiered in 1999 at the Cogitatur Theatre in Katowice (the pre-premiere performance took place the previous year). Until 2004, the play was part of the Cogitatur Theatre’s repertoire, and from 2004 to 2014, it was performed under the banner of Teatr A Part. The play has traveled to many countries. With Teatr A Part, it was presented in Brazil, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Germany, and Italy, in addition to Poland. With Teatr A Part, it has revisited Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy, as well as Belarus, Croatia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. The play has been performed 70 times.
In 2024, it marked 25 years since the premiere of “Femina”. To mark the occasion, ten years after its last performance, we revived this production, which is considered a cult classic by many. We also did so to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the A Part Theatre and the 30th anniversary of the A Part International Festival of Performing Arts, both of which fell in the same year. The anniversary performances were dedicated to the memory of two of our late friends and actors who appeared in the production: Marta Waszkielewicz (Paradecka) and Marek Radwan.
Concept, script, direction, set design: Marcin Herich.
Casting: Alina Bachara, Mateusz Barczyk, Daniel Dyniszuk, Maciej Dziaczko, Dawid Kozak, Cezary Kruszyna, Anna Swoboda, Monika Wachowicz.
The skull sculpture was designed and created by Tomasz Wenkler.
Music: Future Sound of London, Jan Garbarek, Elliot Goldenthal, Fritz Kreisler, Vivaldi.
Live trombone parts: Maciej Dziaczko.
Technical support and production management: Dariusz Piotrowski. Off-screen text: excerpt from Thomas Stearns Eliot’s poem “Ash Wednesday,” interpreted by Monika Wachowicz.
Premiere: September 1999
The original cast of the performance: Maciej Dziaczko, Dorota Kleszcz, Katarzyna Mrozińska-Izdebska, Katarzyna Pryc, Marek Radwan, Piotr Węgrzyński, and Lesław Witosz.
The performance also featured, at various times, Michał Grzybczak, Adam Janeczko, Jakub Kabus, Marcin Kuszej, Marcin Liber, Zuzanna Łapka, Leszek Małyszek, Barbara Prądzyńska, Joanna Pyrcz, and Marta Waszkielewicz (Paradecka).
+18
The performance contains nudity, loud music, and images of violence.
Free admission.
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